Leave It All To Shine
by Annaelle
Summary: Tori and André are driving home after a sick party at Keenan Thompson's house. Suddenly, something most unexpected happens. Something that'll change their lives and relationship forever.   But, does it change it in a good way or in a bad way?
1. Preview

**Leave It All To Shine**

_**Preview**_

Tori smiled as she leaned to André. She was really tired, but still glad at how the evening had turned out. Yes, of course she was now boyfriendless, but strangely, she was okay with that.  
>André had offered her a ride home, seeing as she was most definitely NOT going home with Stephen. She was glad to have a friend like André. He was always there for her — whenever she needed him. Today was one of those moments.<br>She sat up again and grinned at him. 'Sorry, I just needed that.' He smiled broadly at her. 'Any time.' She gazed through the window of the car, to the blur of other cars and buildings. 'Hey, André?' she asked when a thought hit her. 'Why don't you have a crazy sweet girlfriend?' André nearly crashed the car in surprise.  
>'Where did that come from?' He demanded, breathing heavily and —though almost invisible— blushing. She shrugged. 'I don't know. I just wondered. I mean, a guy like you is what every girl would want, right? Sweet, caring, loyal. Get it?' André raised his eyebrows and pretended not to care.<br>'How much did you drink at the party?' He said, feighing worry, trying desperately to change the subject. Tori smiled and leaned back in the seat.  
>The car lurched to a stop in front of a deserted crossroad. At first, Tori wondered why, but then she saw the red light above her. She leaned back again and closed her eyes.<br>Next to her, André glanced at her, sighing as he drank in her perfect features. Her lashes throwing long, elegant shadows on her cheeks, her rose, full, soft, extremely kissable lips. He sighed and nearly jumped through the roof in surprise when someone knocked on his window. It was a man with a map, looking for the city, probably. Tori sat up and looked at the man, vaguely interested. André let the window slide down.

'Hey man,' he said, 'what can we do for you?' The guy dropped the map and pulled out a gun, pointing it directly at André's head. Tori gasped. 'Get out of the damn car,' the man hissed.  
>Tori and André hastened to oblige. Tori hurried around the car, to stand at André's side. 'Come out guys!' the man called over his shoulder. At least a dozen more men appeared. Tori gasped again, and slowly reached for André's hand. 'Well Well,' a tall broadshouldered guy said, running his eyes up and down from her head to her shoes. André squeezed her hand reassuringly. The man — he had to be at least 6'6"— yanked at Tori's arm and pulled her away from André. 'I think we found ourselves a real treat tonight, men!' He pushed Tori against the car, running his hands up and down her body. She struggled, feeling terrified and absolutely repulsed, but he was too strong for her. 'No, Tori!' André called. 'Leave her alone!' The man with the gun punched André in the gut. He bent over, moaning in pain. 'André!', Tori called out. The man laughed. 'Don't worry love. Just do as I tell you and your boyfriend will be just fine.' André shook his head. 'No, Tori, don't, I'm fine.' The guy with the gun kicked him again, knocking him over, and punched his nose. Blood streamed over André's face.<br>Tori let a dry sob escape her lips. 'Please, stop. He hasn't done anything,' she pleaded. The tall guy merely laughed. 'This one seems like a screamer, don't you think?' he said to the twelve other men. They all nodded, grunted and made approving noises. Tori was terrified, not for herself but for André, who lay now defenseless on the ground, moaning in agony.  
>The man grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at him. 'Yes,' he whispered, 'this one I will enjoy.' He gently took the front of her shirt and ripped it clean off. Tori screamed when the rest of her clothes had to undergo the same treatment. He stopped when she was only wearing her underwear. He nodded.<br>'Ain't she just delicious?' He said, before pushing her roughly to the ground. She screamed again, and she heard André behind her, but she couldn't see.

'Tori!' He yelled, and it even sounded as if he was running towards her, to save her. She allowed herself to have a moment of faith.

And then the gunshot sounded, loud and clear.

* * *

><p><strong> Okay, first chapter — more a preview really.<br>If you like the story, please review, and I will continue.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	2. Back 2 School

**Back to school**

Tori leaned back into the seat and gazed out of the window. The school parking lot was filled with cars, but seeing as classes had already started, there were no students out. She rubbed her upper arms, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she did.  
>'I guess we should go inside.' She glanced at André, who was pale. This was the first time they'd be going out in public again since the night of the party.<br>Tori still had flash backs every night. She knew André suffered from it as much as she did, but he refused to speak of it. Whenever she brought it up, he shrugged it off as if it were nothing. He nodded, breathed in deeply and opened his door. Tori got out too and slung her bag over her shoulder. André stood frozen at the hood of the car, listening to the yells and cries of delight of the people in gym class.  
>Loud sounds tended to freeze, startle or even scare him. Tori hurried to the other side of the car. 'André,' she whispered, cupping his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. 'André, look at me. It's okay. It's nothing.' He breathed in again and unfroze. He slowly raised his hands to hers and pulled them from his face.<br>He wove his fingers into hers and smiled at her. She felt tingly all the time when she was around André— she had before, but after the 'incident', André had started acting as if he did too.

She slowly pulled her hands from his and turned to the school. 'We should really go, André.' He nodded again and grimaced. 'It's just so weird to pretend nothing happened.' Tori turned to him again, alarmed by his tone. 'No one is asking us to pretend nothing happened to us. André, you were shot. Beaten up. I was—' she stopped. She couldn't speak the words. André saw her eyes tear up. 'Tori, if you don't want to go yet, we can go home.' She sighed. 'No, we'll go in, we'll smile, we'll tell them we're all right. We can do this, André.' She wanted to dash into the school before she could change her mind. André caught her arm as she went by and pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head against his chest. She heard his heart beat steadily and smiled. 'Thanks,' she said, 'I needed that.' André smiled and pressed his lips on her hair. 'I know,' he replied. Tori leaned back and grinned. 'Come on. We've been postponing this too long already.' She headed for the school, pulling André by his hand. They walked into the school, through the empty hall and corridor, to Sikowitz's classroom. Tori wrapped her fingers around the door handle and glanced back at André. 'Ready?' He breathed in deeply. 'No. Let's do it.'  
>She grinned, let go of his hand and pushed the door open.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>NOON – The Asphalt Café<br>ANDRÉ'S POV **

Cat was her usual bouncy self, but Beck seemed rather worried about us. Tori looked really pretty today, yet she was paler than usual.  
>I stared at my lunch. I had no appetite whatsoever, and I could tell Tori felt exactly the same way. Jade was slipping in her snide comments every few moments, causing Beck to throw several angry glances at her. Sikowitz had kept us so busy all morning I had hardly had time to think. We had done several improv exercises, ABC improv, and several scenes for plays. Luckily, Tori and I only had one more class in the afternoon and then we could finally go home. Tori seemed to really need the time alone again.<p>

It wasn't like we did all that much when we were at her or my house, but at least there we were alone, together, but still. Mostly, we just sit on the couch together, holding on to each other, Tori crying often.  
>Believe it or not, one positive thing had come from the 'incident'. I was now sure I loved her. I loved her like I would never love another girl. I knew she cared for me too. At least I hoped she did. She sat across the table from me, playing with her French fries absent-mindedly. Cat sat right next to her, blabbering happily, causing Tori to grin every now and then. Beck turned to me. 'So man. How are you?' I shrugged. What did he want to hear? I mean, he was my best friend and all, but seriously, what was I gonna tell him?<br>That I was a train wreck? That I took a bullet in the gut trying to save my best friend with whom I was secretly desperately in love?

The bell rang, saving me the trouble of answering. I got up, slung my bag over my shoulder and grinned at Beck. 'I'm fine, dude.'  
>'Tori,' I said, walking around the table, 'you ready?' She glanced up at me, and in that second, I knew she was about to break down. Everybody else had already left for the classes, leaving just me and Tori at the Café.<br>I dropped the bag and sat down next to her. 'Ssh, Tori, it's just fine. I'm here; I'm not going anywhere.' She started crying and wrapped her arms around me.  
>Softly stroking her hair, I whispered soft words of comfort to her. 'Come on,' I whispered to her. 'Let's ditch this class and get home. You need it.' She sniffed and nodded. I picked up both our bags and pulled her towards my car by her hand.<p>

Judging by her sense of defeat, it would be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>THAT NIGHT<br>TORI'S POV**

Memories haunted her all night, even when André stayed over; his parents were often out, and— though he hated to admit so— the thought of being all alone scared the pee out of him. Her parents never minded when he stayed over again.  
>But even André, sleeping on a stretcher in her room, couldn't keep the nightmares at bay.<p>

_She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would all go away. Hoping it had all been a very bad dream. But when she opened them again, everything was still wrong.  
>Nothing made sense. She twisted her upper body, looking behind her, hoping the bullet hadn't reached its goal.<br>She was in for yet another grave disappointment. Tears ran down her cheeks as she watched André fall. He hit the pavement hard, hitting his head against the stones twice. She hardly dared to breath as she felt hot tears running down her cheeks.  
>'André,' she whispered, over and over again, unwilling to believe that which she saw.<br>A pool of blood spread under his body. She started crying.  
>He wasn't dead. He was André, he couldn't be dead; he just couldn't be. She cried in despair, finally coming to her senses again. The tall man was still on top of her, pulling at the last pieces of clothes she wore. She kicked, scratched and bit, but he didn't waver.<br>Finally, three other men of the gang jumped in to help him. One held down her arms, the other her legs and the third put a large, sweaty hand over her mouth. She knew what would happen before it did. She closed her eyes as the man unbuttoned his pants. She didn't even scream when he started._

And then she'd wake up, sometimes screaming, sometimes merely sweating. Sometimes, André would already be sitting next to her, holding her hand, knowing what she felt.  
>At first, he had refused to see her. Tori had been terrified, believing he blamed her too, for what had happened. André, on the other hand, had felt exceedingly guilty about what had happened to Tori. He felt guilty because he'd been unable to save her from that fate.<br>It had taken them weeks to figure out they weren't speaking because they were each afraid the other might be mad at them. Luckily, they had soon regained their BFF status again.

Tori sighed and sat up, running a hand through her hair. André was on the stretcher, snoring softly, his arm over his face. Tori smiled at the sight of him. Ever since they had been attacked by that gang, she had leaned on André more even than before, knowing now how much she would miss him if anything ever happened to him.  
>Those moments during which she had thought, feared André was dead were the most horrible of her life. Even when the doctor had told her she would probably never be able to have children, she hadn't felt so sad. Of course, she was, but that was nothing compared to the infinite sadness André's death would have caused her. That was another reason why they spent so much time together now. She couldn't bear the thought of not being around him. That's why they had postponed going back to school for so long. They didn't have all classes together. When either of them would break at school, there was no guarantee the other would be there to help. Luckily, Cat, Robbie, Beck, Trina and even Jade were there for them.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>TORI'S POV<strong>

Laying down again, I knew I couldn't sleep anymore. I glanced at the alarm clock and groaned. It was three AM.  
>I sat up again, threw my sheets back and tiptoed across the room to the door, careful not to wake André. I snuck down the stairs and flipped the switch, turning on the kitchen lights. I filled a large glass of water, drained it in one large gulp and filled it again. As I turned around, I startled and spilled the contents of the glass over my tank top and shorts and the floor. 'Gosh, André!' I swore. 'Didn't I tell you not to sneak up on me like that?' He shrugged. 'Why are you up?' I put the glass in the sink and attempted to dry my soaked top with a towel. 'I couldn't sleep anymore.'<br>André pulled the towel from my hands. 'Here, let me do that, it's my fault you spilled anyway.' He softly started to dab my arms, belly and hands. I had to focus on my breathing. He stopped suddenly and turned away. 'I think you should put on something dry,' he said, still looking away, 'I don't think I can dry that with a towel.'

I frowned. 'André, are you alright?' He nodded; 'Yeah. Just a bit . . . Confused.' I reached for his shoulder. 'Anything I can do?' He turned around. 'Yeah,' he said, a guilty smile playing his lips, 'stop looking so damn cute, before I do something I know I'll regret.' My mouth fell open and I couldn't remember how to close it. He turned around completely now, walked up to me, pushed me back against the sink and pressed his lips on mine. I forgot to breathe. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I couldn't believe what he was doing. I figured he'd stop, realizing what he was doing. He didn't.  
>He deepened the kiss, grazing his tongue against my lower lip; I shivered and let my tongue slide against his, feeling his body close to mine.<br>This was the first time I had been able to hold anyone close without flash backs. André's hands roamed freely all over my body, finally reaching my legs, wrapping them around his waist. One of his hands slid under my shirt, exploring my belly. I groaned and kissed him again.  
>He stumbled back, my legs still wrapped firmly around his waist, attempting to get us to the couch safely. As we reached it, he fell back on it, allowing me to pull his shirt over his head. He let his hands wander up my thighs, over my belly, pulling the wet top over my head in the process. His lips wandered down from mine to my cheek, my chin and my neck, where he kissed and sucked. I moaned.<br>He suddenly kissed me again, more passionate even than before. Surprised, but still pleased, I kissed him back. When we rolled over, André on top of me, we nearly fell of the couch, snapping us right back to reality again.  
><em>What just happened? Was I seriously making out with André? My best friend? And, most importantly, did he leave a hicky on my neck? <em>

André looked positively mortified. 'Tori,' he said, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to.' I silenced him by holding my finger to his lips. 'Don't apologize. I didn't try to stop you, did I?' he looked confused. 'Meaning?' I weighed my words. 'I wanted you to kiss me. I think. I don't know why, but it just felt really good.' André's expression was unreadable. 'André?' I asked carefully. He redirected his eyes to me again slowly. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again. Then, seemingly as if he couldn't think of a better response to my words, he leaned in to kiss me again. He pulled me onto his lap again, starting there where we'd let off in the first place. As he rolled on top again, I pushed him back a little. 'Not here. Upstairs. . . Bedroom. . .' Making sure our lips were in constant contact, he rewrapped my legs around his waist, scooped up our shirts with one hand and ran up the stairs. Back in my room, we dropped all caution. We fell back on my bed, kissing, touching, cuddling. As André's hands found their way to my bra, he stopped for the shortest moment. He looked down on me, his cheeks flushed with excitement.  
>'Are you sure about this, Tori? If you want to stop, I can just—' I kissed him again. 'I'm sure about you, André,' I whispered. Those words seemed to take away all the self-restraint he had. His lips found mine again.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I understood the reviews clearly. Details about the 'incident' will follow later on in the story.<br>As came clear from the reviews I got, I think - in matters of my own safety and other people's sanity - I should continue xD**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway!  
>Please review!<strong>

**Xx Annaelle**


	3. Hospitals

**Hi everyone!  
>Thank you so much for the reviews so far!<strong>

**All I can say is: Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Hospitals<strong>

Tori woke up when her Phone started vibrating and played 'Make It Shine' softly.  
>She turned around, finding André's face inches from hers. His arm lay over her waist, almost as if he would never want to let her go again.<br>She blushed at her memory of last night. Looking down, she was relieved to find that she was wearing her underwear again, as was he. That would save them some explaining to her parents. She wasn't sure what this meant. Were they like boyfriend-girlfriend now? What if he felt like it had just been a fling? She moved slowly to the edge of her bed, reaching for her phone, who was playing the music louder now, demanding her attention. She finally grabbed it and pushed the snooze button. When she rolled to her other side again, she found André wide awake, smiling at her. 'Good morning,' he whispered, before softly pressing his lips on hers again. Butterflies erupted in the pit of her stomach, and she giggled as he softly tickled her bare belly. He leaned on his elbow, laying across her body. She grinned.  
>Her phone ruined the moment by demanding more attention – or more snoozing. André beat her hand to the phone and he snoozed it again. He caressed her face and leaned closer to kiss her again. 'So,' he whispered, 'where were we?' She laughed and pulled his face to hers, begging for him to kiss her again.<p>

They were really on the verge of getting to it again when Tori's phone – yet again – started to ring. She and André looked at the phone simultaneously and back at each other. André grinned as she reached for the phone. She sighed. 'We really should get up if you want to make it to school today. It's eight already.' André sat up and threw the sheets back. He grimaced. 'I really don't want to go when you're not there.' Tori sat up and stroked his cheek. 'You have to. Beck and Cat and Robbie and even Jade will miss you. You need to be amongst people. You've always been the social one.' André smirked. 'Coming from you, that must mean a lot.' She grinned. 'Just go. I'll be there by noon.' Scowling, André got up from the bed and scurried around the room, looking for his clothes. Tori sat up and pulled the sheet over her legs again.  
>She pondered over the question she was dying to ask, but something held her back. She swallowed the question again and again as she watched André look under the bed for his shirt. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore. 'André,' she said, 'What does this mean?' He stared at her. 'I mean,' she gestured from his bare chest to her bare legs and belly, 'what did last night mean for you and me? For us?' André approached her again, looking thoughtful. 'Well,' he started, kneeling next to the bed, 'I would've thought that sleeping with you,' he leaned closer, 'three times,' he added, smiling his best bad-boy-smile, 'would make that question irrelevant?' She smiled and blushed. 'Victoria Vega,' he said, his eyes shimmering with excitement, 'will you be my girlfriend?' Tori smiled widely and nodded. André's eyes sparked with joy as he leaned in to kiss her. She pulled him closer again, pulling him onto the bed again. He moaned as she rolled on top, leaning heavily on him. His hands wandered up from her hips to her bra strap. She laughed softly when he rolled on top again, his hands sliding down from her bra to her panties. His lips traveled down to her neck, causing her to moan again. 'André,' she whispered, 'you should be getting ready for school.' André stopped kissing her and looked up. A smile graced his lips. 'I am getting ready.' Tori grinned and pulled him closer to kiss him again.<p>

Suddenly, Tori's mother knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Tori and André jumped apart, mortified. Tori's mom stood frozen in the doorway, her mouth hanging open slightly. 'Oh my God,' she said, clapping her hands in front of her mouth. 'Oh my God.' Tori glanced from her mother to André, who had jumped behind her, using her body as cover for his lack of clothes. She had pulled her sheets almost up to her chin. 'Mom', she said, reproach in her voice. 'Tori,' her mother whispered, 'what are you doing?' Tori opened her mouth to answer, but André did instead. 'Please, Mrs. V, we were going to tell you soon. We were just . . . Afraid to tell anyone just yet. Understand?' Slowly, she nodded, examining her daughter's and André's expression. 'Tori, I wish you would've warned me. I'm not sure you should be doing things like this just yet.' Tori stared at her mother indignantly. 'Mom! I'm seventeen!' Her mom sighed. 'You know that's not what I meant. Tori, you're still hurt. What will the doctor say? You weren't supposed to do anything for another few months.' Tori felt André tense up behind her. 'Mom,' she said more pointedly. 'Would you mind?' Her mother threw her another wary look. She nodded and turned away. 'Mom,' Tori started, and her mom turned around, 'don't tell dad yet, will you? That's my job.' Her mother nodded and closed the door behind her, leaving Tori and André, both mortified.

Tori turned around to André. 'Oh my God,' she said. André sank onto the bed next to her. 'Yeah, I guess you could say that. That wasn't such a good start, was it?' She shook her head. 'I think it would've been a better idea to tell her slowly, let her get used to the idea.' André nodded. 'Yeah, probably.' She wrapped her arms around his waist. 'We have to get dressed.' André scowled. 'I liked it better when I didn't have to watch you put your clothes on. It's a lot more fun when you take them off.' She grinned and got up from the bed, out of André's all too comfortable embrace. She scooped up her top – it had dried overnight – and threw it on the bed. André groaned and got up from the bed. He picked up the clothes he had dropped on the floor again. Slowly getting dressed, they exchanged dozens of secret smiles and gentle laughs.  
>When Tori had finally managed to squeeze herself into her skinny jeans, she pulled her favorite purple shirt over her head, glanced at André and laughed when she saw they were dressed to match.<p>

She walked up to him and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him. He kissed her back, but it was only half-heartedly. She leaned back. 'What's wrong?' He frowned. 'What your mom said. About you not being allowed to . . .' She shook her head. 'It was just a precaution. I feel fine, André. It couldn't have been better. It was what a girl's first time should've been like.' He smiled, not thoroughly convinced, but reassured.  
>He pressed a kiss on her lips and headed for the door. 'Maybe we shouldn't tell everyone immediately. Enjoy the privacy of it for a little while. Few days.' Tori nodded. 'It would give me the time to tell my dad. And Trina.' André smiled at her. 'So, for today, tomorrow, just BFFs?' Tori grimaced. 'Only during the day.' André grinned at her. 'Only during the day.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>HOLLYWOOD ARTS – Second break before lunch – André's locker<br>ANDRÉ'S POV**

Beck stared at me, incredulous. 'Just like that?' I nodded. 'Yeah. Just like that.'  
>Beck leaned against the locker next to mine. 'But, are you two a thing now? The whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing?' André shrugged. 'Yeah, but I mean, no one knows just yet. Has to stay that way too. Tori's not supposed to have a boyfriend at all. And she has to tell her parents too, you know, with everything that's happened.' Beck nodded and smiled. 'I'm glad for you, man. You and Tori are great together.' I smiled. 'Thanks Beck. Just don't tell her I told you.' Beck nodded. 'Yeah, cool.' The shrill sound of the bell interrupted our conversation. Beck looked over his shoulder. 'Come on,' he said, 'We'll be late for Sikowitz's class.' I nodded, shoved the last book in my locker and slammed it shut. Despite what I had thought, I found it easier to pick up my life again, even when Tori wasn't there. It was easier when she was there, to keep my world balanced, but I knew that she was having more trouble adjusting to a normal life.<br>I checked my watch. Eleven AM. Tori'd be at the hospital right about now. Following Beck, I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted Tori.  
><em>Hi there sunshine,<br>Everyone says 'hi' here, telling you to hurry up and get here.  
>I hope everything turns out okay with the tests.<br>Miss you, love you_

_André_

I hesitated before hitting send. I had never told her I loved her before. I did, with all my heart, but there was something so horribly binding about it.  
>I manned up and hit 'send'.<br>As I entered the classroom, my phone vibrated, startling me. I checked it.

_Hi babe,  
>I'll be there in an hour or two. Just waiting for test results now.<br>I'll be fine, André, so don't worry.  
>Love you 2,<em>

_Tori_

I smiled. That made my day. Sikowitz entered the room, immediately demanding all attention. I smiled. Just one more hour without Tori.

Just one more.

* * *

><p><strong>ST MARYS HOSPITAL – LA – GYNACOLOGIST'S OFFICE<br>TORI'S POV**

I leaned back and stared at the pictures of the babies on the walls. It was quite unnerving, knowing that, if my tests were negative, I might never have children. My phone vibrated. I jumped from the examination table and reached for my jeans.  
>I smiled when I saw André's text.<br>The door opened, and I wasn't supposed to have my phone on, so I quickly replied to his text and hit send. I returned my phone to my jeans when the doctor walked in again, carrying a large map.  
>I swallowed. My test results.<p>

'So, miss Vega,' the doctor said, gesturing to the chair, 'take a seat, please. Let's have a look at the results, shall we?'  
>I nodded, suddenly so nervous I couldn't find my voice anymore. The doctor opened the map and slowly pulled out the first sheet of paper.<br>His eyes traveled over the sheet, his expression unreadable. You could've heard a pin drop in that silence.

He slowly lowered the paper. 'Well, miss Vega…'

* * *

><p><strong>HOLLYWOOD ARTS – ANDRÉ'S LOCKER<br>ANDRÉ'S POV**

I checked my phone again, for what seemed like the bizillionth time in ten minutes.  
>I'd texted Tori twice already, but she wasn't replying to anything.<br>I was worried. Beck was with Jade, by the lemonade machine, throwing anxious glances at me every few seconds.  
>I sighed and stuffed my phone in my backpocket. The shrill sound of the bell told me lunch period was over. Tori still wasn't here.<br>I slammed my locker shut, throwing one more hopeful look at the door before turning around.

'André?' I spun around when I heard Tori's voice. Lane was looking through the window of his office door, a worried look in his eyes.  
>I frowned. 'Were you with Lane? I was worried,' I told her while pulling her into a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me back. She didn't answer me immediately. It took me a second to realize she was crying.<br>I leaned back, cupped her face in my hands and made her look at me. 'Tori? What's wrong?' She shook her head and started sobbing harder.  
>'They were negative, André. My test results were negative.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh, cliffhangers xD I just love them...<br>Please review! Thanks for reading!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	4. Fight

**Hi guys! Thank you all for reading and reviewing so far!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Fight<strong>

**HOLLYWOOD ARTS, ANDRÉ'S LOCKER  
>ANDRÉ'S POV<strong>

My initial thought was that I had heard her wrong. This couldn't be happening to Tori. It didn't make any sense. She was the sweetest person on earth. Why would something as horrible as this be happening to her? She was still in my arms, crying her eyes out.  
>I wrestled with myself, trying to make sense of it all.<br>When I couldn't, I felt the wave of horrible guilt wash over me. Maybe if I hadn't . . . What if it was my fault? I pulled Tori closer and kissed her hair. 'Baby, I'm so sorry,' I whispered. 'I'm so, so sorry. Is there anything I can do right now?' She looked up at me, her face wet with tears. She nodded.  
>'Please take me home.' I nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I glanced over my shoulder to Beck, who had hung back, waiting for me. I nodded towards the classroom. He gazed at me intently, almost as if wanting to say, 'Are you sure?' I nodded and looked pointedly at Tori. He nodded and held up his phone; the message was clear. He wanted me to keep him posted.<p>

I walked Tori to my car and helped her into the passenger's seat. I walked around the car and got in. I glanced at Tori. She looked so vulnerable, so breakable. I wanted to hug her and never let go again. But I couldn't yet. I fired up the engine and left the parking lot. She put her hand on mine. 'André? Please don't go to my place. My mom's home and I really don't want to see anyone right now.' I nodded slowly. 'We could go to my place. I think my mom's working late again, dad's on a business trip, so. . .' She nodded. 'Would you mind?' I smiled at her. 'For you? No. I'd do anything.' She smiled sadly and then dropped her gaze to her knees. I tried to swallow the large lump that seemed to have set itself firmly in my throat.  
>As I cruised down the highway, neither of us spoke, unwilling to say anything else that might upset the other. I was petrified by the thought she might hate me. I hated myself. How could I have slept with her? Now she could never have children, and it felt like it was all my fault. I glanced at Tori every few seconds. She leaned her head against the window, gazing outside without seeing anything.<br>I tried to imagine what she had to be feeling, but I couldn't even remotely imagine; all I could think was, _Why her? Why Tori? Hadn't she been through enough already? _

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I pulled into the driveway. Tori sat up and clicked her seatbelt. I quickly got out and opened her door before she got the chance. She smiled at me. 'Lucky me, for having a gentleman boyfriend.' She leaned up, pressed a kiss on my lips and headed for the front door. I shook my head in desperation and slammed the car door shut before following her.

Once inside, I threw my bag into a corner and watched Tori drop herself on my crappy red couch. She kicked her sneakers off and lay down, her hand over her eyes. I sighed and walked up to the couch. 'Come on,' I said, 'move along, I need a spot.' She sat up and allowed me to sit down. As I did, she crawled closer and sat so close to me she could've just sat on my lap. My cheeks felt hot. I stroked her hair and wrapped my arms around her. 'Are you okay, Tori?' She sighed. 'Considering? Yeah. Fine.' I frowned. I knew she was lying. I grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and arranged her on my lap. 'Now Tori Vega, don't you lie to me,' I said, trying desperately to sound reproachful. She smiled and leaned in to press her lips on mine. Kissing her was searing pleasure, I cannot deny that, but a little voice in my head kept telling me I shouldn't be kissing her. Her hands wandered between my legs. With an almighty effort, I pushed her up, holding her away from me. I shook my head. 'How can you even be thinking about that right now?' She shrugged. 'It's all I can think about when I'm with you.' Her cheeks were flushed and her lips seemed to be swollen a little bit.  
>I sighed. 'Tori,' I started, but she wouldn't let me finish. 'André, I'm fine. Really.' I shook my head. 'No, you're not. Tori, I know you. Ever since I've known you, you've been telling me how bad you want a baby. And now, you can't. And all because we—' She silenced me with one kiss. When she leaned back, I realized I wasn't breathing.<br>'I know all that, André. But none of it is your fault. None of it. You didn't rape me, did you?' I flinched when she said it out loud. 'I had sex with you while you shouldn't have.' She laughed. 'That's what you're so worried about? André, don't worry about that. I asked. Okay? I asked my doctor if it would've made a difference. He said it didn't. So no matter what we did, the test would've been negative anyway.' I pouted. She smiled.

'André, I accepted it,' she said when I continued to look cross. 'There's nothing I can do now to change it. I have to give my body the time to heal itself. It's only been a month.' She lay her hand on my tummy, the exact spot where the bullet had hit me. I swallowed. 'I just wish there was something I could do to make you feel better.' She smiled suggestively. 'Apart from that!' I called out when she wanted to continue where we'd left off. She grinned and leaned back. 'Let me stay here tonight. I don't want to look at my mom's 'I'm so sorry'-face all night.' I wanted to agree immediately, but then remembered she hadn't told her dad what was going on. 'But your dad. . Won't he wonder?' She shrugged. 'I'll tell him tomorrow.' I frowned.  
>'He's not going to shoot me next time I come over, is he?' She laughed. 'I'll tell him not to shoot you. Promise.' She kissed me again and I forgot all about why I shouldn't be doing this.<p>

I forgot my own name.

* * *

><p><strong>TORI'S POV<strong>

_When they were all done, they let her go and stood up, straightened their clothes and laughed, as if there were not two teenagers, both inches from death, lying at their feet.  
>Tori gazed at André, who lay face-down on the pavement, the pool of blood underneath him growing larger still. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't care if she died anymore. All she thought important now was that André should be saved. He took a beating, he took a bullet trying to help her. It was all her fault.<br>The large man towered over her, smirking. 'Yeah, told you we'd enjoy this one.' He leaned down and punched her in the face. She cried in pain as she felt her nose break.  
>He grinned, straightened up and called, 'Come on, guys. Let's get going!' <em>

_She heard their heavy footfalls fade away and tried to move, crying in pain when she felt her broken arm and leg for the first time. She pulled herself towards André with one arm, scraping off her bare skin. She couldn't care anymore. Finally, she was close enough to touch his hand. She started sobbing as she did. It was ice-cold.  
>'André? André, wake up. Please don't be dead.' She cried harder. 'You can't be dead. André, please.' She begged him to wake for what felt like hours. She felt the cold creep into her own limbs.<br>She lay down her head, her hand still clutching André's. Gazing up at the stars, she felt the urge to sing 'Make It Shine'. It would be ridiculous, in such a situation, to be singing. But wasn't it André who had once told her that no matter how bad things looked, singing and music would always make it better?_

_She opened her mouth; her throat was raw from her screams, but she managed to produce a faint noise, vaguely recognizable as singing._

You don't have to be afraid to put your dreams in action  
>You're never gonna fade<br>You'll be the main attraction  
>Not a fantasy<br>Just remember me  
>When it turns out right . . .<p>

_She vaguely recalled screeching tires and hurried voices. 'Quick John! Call 911! Oh, poor kids,' a woman's voice crooned somewhere over her head.  
>She tried to say something, but her voice was completely gone. She felt tears on her cheeks again. <em>

_Last thing she remembered before everything flashed bright white, going back to black was the sound of an ambulance and a voice calling out her name. 'Tori!'_

She shot up in the dark, breathing heavily, as if she'd just run ten miles. André was right next to her, vast asleep, snoring softly. She felt a smile appear on her lips, despite the nightmare. She hadn't had a nightmare for so long, she'd hoped they'd stay away. Of course, the visit to the hospital had ripped open the half-healed wounds— so to speak, of course. Her initial fear for André's life, her pain when she figured out exactly what had happened to them, her fear of meeting the gang when she went out on the street for the first time again.  
>But André had been there with her, every step of the way. He'd helped her and she'd helped him, and somewhere along the way, she'd fallen in love with him. Truly, madly, deeply, irrevocably in love. And now she knew he had fallen in love with her too.<br>She honestly didn't know how she would be coping with all this if André hadn't been there for her. She lay down again, shoving closer to André, into his warm, safe embrace.

He stirred and opened his eyes, blinking lazily. 'Wuzzgoingon?' he said sleepily. She smiled and stroked his cheek. 'Nothing. Go to sleep.' He smiled and pulled her into a hug. 'I love you,' he whispered. She smiled and threw her arm around his waist. 'I love you too,' she whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>ASPHALT CAFÉ – THE NEXT DAY<br>TORI'S POV**

I grinned at Cat, who was in the middle of telling me how her brother had tried to eat her shoe. André was across the table, sitting next to Beck, smiling at me every now and then, when no one else was looking. He'd promised not to tell anyone before I had had the chance to talk to my dad. I grimaced. Which I would be doing tonight.  
>He had been extremely protective of me since the 'incident'. If it were up to him, I wouldn't be dating again until I was seventy.<br>I couldn't wait to tell everyone though. Especially Cat and Jade. Maybe Jade would finally lay off a bit. I mean, she still suspected me of crushing on Beck.  
>I glanced at Beck. Honesty bids me to say, I had crushed on Beck, but that was before I had fallen in love with André. And I never would've tried to steal Beck from Jade. Ever.<p>

I turned my attention to Cat again, who was looking at me with the most curious expression on her face. 'Sorry, Cat. I wasn't listening, what did you say?' She shook her head. 'Nothing. You look dreamy, Tori. You're only dreamy when you like someone. Who is he?' My mouth fell open. Jade directed her eyes to me, looking most deadly. I exchanged a quick glance with André. 'No one. I don't like anyone. I just enjoy being back.' André, across the table, sighed. Jade examined my expression. Seriously, she scared the hell out of me when she looked like that. 'Well Vega,' she started, 'don't lie to us. Who is he?' I opened and closed my mouth, torn between the urge to tell them the truth and to keep my thing with André a secret.

André opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. Beck beat both him and me to it. 'Jade, drop it. If Tori says there's nothing, then there's nothing.' Jade turned to Beck, furious. 'Oh, so now you defend her?' Beck rolled his eyes. 'Jade, I'm not saying—' She thumped her hand on the table. 'So you're thinking about breaking up?' Beck's mouth fell open. 'What? No. Why would you—' André stepped in. 'Jade, calm down. There's nothing between Tori and Beck.' He raised his eyebrow. 'At least, I hope for her sake. And if there is,' he glanced at me, 'you and I can be cheated boyfriend and girlfriend together.' Jade's mouth fell open, Beck stared at André and even Cat seemed at a loss of words. I couldn't remember how to close my mouth. He smiled apologetic at me. 'Wait,' Cat started, as if she wanted to get something straight, 'so you and Tori are like. . .' André grinned sheepishly. 'Girlfriend,' he said. She turned to me. 'Boyfriend,' I said. Cat hit my arm. 'Ouch!' I cried, rubbing my arm. 'Cat! Why?' She looked angry and, was it possible, even hurt. 'My best friends get together and you fail to tell me? Do you know what that makes me feel like?' She got up and walked away, sobbing. I turned around, upset. 'Cat,' I called, 'Cat, wait!' I threw one last look at the rest of the table, who were still frozen in their seats. I got up and followed Cat.

She didn't stop until we reached the Black Box Theatre. 'Cat, please wait.' I said, desperate. She turned around. Her face was marred with black stripes when her makeup had run. 'Cat, I'm sorry I haven't told you, but we only got together a few days ago. I didn't even tell my dad yet. That's the only reason I didn't tell you yet.' She sniffed. 'But you could have. I wouldn't have told anyone.' I threw my hands in the air in desperation. 'Cat, I was scared! I still am! You know what happened. I was scared for how you would react.' Cat crossed her arms over her chest. 'I would've been happy for you, Tori. You're my best friend. I am happy for you. I'm just mad you didn't tell me.' She turned around again. I wanted to follow her again, but she held out her hand. 'I just want to think first, Tori. Leave me alone.' I stopped dead in my tracks and watched her walk away. I walked to a chair and dropped myself on it.

This should've been so much better.

* * *

><p><strong>BLACK BOX THEATRE<br>ANDRÉ'S POV**

I poked my head around the corner. Tori was pacing around in the theatre, visibly upset.  
>'Tori,' I said softly, 'I'm sorry.'<p>

Tori looked around, her eyes shooting daggers. 'Why did you tell them?' she yelled. 'Do you know what you've done? Now Cat's mad at me for not telling her, and Beck got into a fight with Jade!' She stamped her foot in anger, causing me to burst into laughter. I walked in. 'Tori, Beck and Jade aren't fighting, Cat won't be mad for longer than three minutes anyway. And did you really just stamp your foot? I thought only people in movies did that.' She crossed her arms over her chest, looked very cross and turned her back to me.  
>I was close to her though and grabbed her by her hips, pulling her down with me, as I sat down, arranging her on my lap to face me. 'C'mon Tori, baby, you can't stay mad at me forever.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Watch me,' she said. I sighed.<br>'I really wish you wouldn't. What do you want me to do to make it up to you?' She shook her head. 'Leave me alone.' She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to turn away from me, as well as she could, with my arms wrapped so tightly around her. When she couldn't turn away from me properly, she pouted, keeping her eyes shut.  
>I grinned and— not knowing what got into me— pressed my lips on her neck, where I'd left a hicky two days ago. Her eyes sprang open, and I was pleased to see the blush on her cheeks. I leaned back. 'Now will you tell me what to do?' Her eyes met mine as she shifted in my lap to face me again. I had no idea what it was that had possessed me when I had kissed her neck, but I knew it was there again when I leaned closer to let my lips meet hers again.<p>

It was nothing like kissing her before. It was searing, agonizing pleasure. A fire, raging through my body and mind, unstoppable, untamable. I couldn't stop. I knew I should, but I could not stop. I, André Harris, the only sane person in our little group of friends, was completely losing myself in what wasn't more than a simple kiss.  
>My lips flirted, gauged, tested hers each time they reconnected with each other after each intake of breath. Her uneven breathing caused bolts of lightning to spring through my body. Her fingers traveled from my chest to my abs, causing me to growl.<br>It's ironic that now, when I had let all my guards down, in Tori's arms, I felt the safest ever. All because of the girl beneath me.

I startled; beneath? Hadn't she started on my lap? I cursed inwardly. _Damn it, André. _I slowly started to pull back, hating the fact that I had noticed we were going just a little bit too far. Sure, I hadn't ripped off her clothes. Yet. But we were still. . .  
>Her tongue moved against mine. I found it extremely difficult to focus. <em>Wait, where were we again? <em>I breathed in. _School. Right. Yeah. _Only then did I begin to curse every school principal and government official I could think of to the deepest and most inner circles of hell. Groaning painfully, I pulled away, leaning on my elbows to look at Tori, who was exceedingly flushed. I smiled. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks rose and she was smiling broadly. I couldn't help but be proud of being the only guy to be able to do that to her. She caressed my neck, shoulders and biceps. She followed her hands eagerly with her eyes. Only when she had caressed every bit of visible skin, and was satisfied with the sight before her did she redirect her eyes to my face. She smiled again.

I smiled, scrambled to my feet and pulled her up with me. 'Well,' I said, 'that was. . . Interesting.' She smiled. 'I think we should fight more often.' I frowned. 'Why would you want that?' She smiled suggestively. 'Our making up is just great.' I smiled and pressed my lips on hers again, holding her close, when the shrill sound of the school bell announced we had to get back to class. I leaned back reluctantly. 'We should get back to class.' She smiled. 'It's only Sikowitz. He wouldn't mind us being a little late.'  
>I grinned. 'Just because they know we are together, doesn't mean we can skip classes now.' She pouted. I laughed and pulled her with me by her hand.<br>Our day was only just beginning.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't have much to say really.<br>I hope you like it - yes, I am aware of the fact that Sikowitz says you have to be proud of your own work no matter what, but still, it's nice to know others appreciate it too.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	5. Stage Kissing

**Stage kissing**

**SIKOWITZ'S CLASSROOM – TORI'S POV**

Now everybody knew André and I were dating, there was no point in trying to pretend there was nothing between us. Still, having people stare at us while walking to Sikowitz's classroom together was quite unnerving. Yet, André's hand in mine comforted me.  
>As we entered the classroom, the usual buzz of chatter seemed to stop for a second before it continued. I felt extremely uncomfortable.<br>André smiled at me. 'Don't worry. We're just a novelty. They're just curious.' I smiled weakly and let him pull me to the first row of chairs, where we sat down next to Robbie and Cat – who, incidentally, smiled radiantly at me.  
>I smiled back and exhaled in relief. I was so glad she wasn't mad at me anymore. Beck and Jade sat on the row of chairs behind us, Jade looking at us almost quizzically. Beck seemed happy though, and smiled when I glanced over my shoulder.<p>

Sikowitz barged into the classroom and yelled, 'OK everyone, listen up! Today we will be working on . . .' He paused, hoping to reach a dramatic effect. He didn't speak for so long though we were getting curious. 'What will we be working on, Sikowitz?' Jade called when he remained still for more than a minute.  
>He looked around, as though roughly woken from a trance and clapped his hands. 'Oh yes, I was talking.' He looked through the classroom. 'We will be practicing on stage kissing!' I glanced at André, confused. He shrugged. I bit my lip and redirected my gaze to Sikowitz, who was pointing at all of us accusingly. 'All of you, including Tori, Beck, Jade, André, are absolute failures in the aloft and holy art of stage kissing!' I exchanged a glance with Beck, Jade and André. Sikowitz continued. 'The kissing in 'Uptown, Downtown' was horrible! There were no sparks, no passion, no heat! When Tori and Beck,' I looked up surprised when he mentioned my name, 'kissed, I felt nothing! No tingly feeling whatsoever!' I leaned to André. 'I think he's losing it.' André smiled and wove his fingers into mine. 'I think he lost it a long time ago.' I grinned and turned back to our insane teacher.<p>

'And, my dear friends, is why your kissing is even worse than that of a blabbering, blunt barbaric band of baboons ,' he concluded. Soft grins were audible in the classroom. 'So, I will assign each one of you with a partner, with whom you will perform a scene in front of the class. Let this be clear, you must kiss!' Everyone nodded. 'And there is one rule,' he added, smiling suggestively. 'The kiss must last for at least 23 seconds!' I frowned. 'Why 23?' I asked.  
>He turned to me and answered, 'Because 23 is my 23rd favorite number.' I frowned, but André squeezed my hand. I smiled at him and forgot about the 23 seconds. 'So, wait,' Sinjin started, 'We'll basically be making out in front of the entire class?' Sikowitz smiled broadly and pointed at Sinjin. 'Indeed, you will, young man.' An uncomfortable silence fell in the classroom.<br>'So,' Sikowitz called out, 'Let's partner everyone, shall we?' He glanced at André and me, our hands and then at Beck and Jade. 'To make sure everyone is strictly stage kissing, it seems best to me if we break up the couples. Tori, you will go with Beck, André, you go with Cat, Jade and Sinjin, Robbie and . . .' He continued, but my mind had started racing. _Me and Beck? Sure, I'd kissed him before, but that didn't mean I wanted to do so again! _I turned to look at Beck, who looked just as shocked as I did, but was still smiling though.

'OK,' Sikowitz called, 'you have the rest of the hour to talk to your partner. Start!'  
>I bit my lip, returned André's comforting smile and turned my chair around to face Beck. He grinned. 'Would you stop looking as if he just sentenced you to death?' I smiled weakly and glanced at Jade, who had moved her chair to an all too eager Sinjin.<br>Beck followed my gaze with his eyes and smiled. 'She'll behave. It's just stage kissing. We've done that before. We've even kissed for real before.' I kicked at his shins. He pulled his legs away and smiled. 'Ouch, Tori. Cool it. I didn't tell Jade.' I groaned. 'That would've been just perfect.' He smiled. 'Tori. Calm down. It'll be fine. It's not like we'll be kissing for real again.'

I kicked at him again. 'Would you stop saying that?' He smirked and held up his hands as a sign of defeat. 'Okay, okay. I'll cut it out.' I leaned back into the chair and smiled at André who'd glanced over his shoulder. I turned back to Beck. 'So what are we going to do?' He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. 'You got me. I have no idea.' I bit my lip and glanced around.  
>Suddenly Beck smiled. I frowned. 'Why are you smiling?' He grinned. 'I've got an idea. You are not going to like it, but it'll get us an A+.' I grimaced. He looked at me expectantly. 'Oh, fine. Tell me.' He smiled radiantly and leaned forward.<br>'So, there's two friends,' he started, 'you and me. One has a slight crush on the other, but the other has a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend,' he smirked. I closed my eyes in desperation. 'Oh God. You're right,' I said. 'About what?' I looked at him. 'I don't like it.' He smiled. 'Just hear me out, okay?' I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrows. 'Go ahead. Before I change my mind.' He grinned. 'So anyway, there's a party at their school. Say the one with the girlfriend breaks up with her, gets drunk and starts talking to the one who's crushing.' I sighed; this sounded all too familiar. 'Then, as a the music is set to this really romantic song, they dance, they kiss, end of story, good grade, everyone happy.' I bit my lip. Even though I didn't quite recalled the story that way, I had to admit it was a good idea. I remembered the last Hollywood Arts party I had attended before Keenan's party. Before André.

* * *

><p><em>The live band was great tonight. I smiled at Beck, who stood alone by the bar, a beer in his hand. I wondered where Jade was.<br>I glanced back at Cat, who was dancing happily with her date for tonight – Mark. André was somewhere with his new girlfriend, and I had absolutely no desire whatsoever to look for Trina. I glanced back at Beck, seeing he beckoned me to get closer; I sighed. I hated talking to him while I knew nothing could come of it.  
>I couldn't just walk away either, so I turned to him, put on my best smile and walked up to the bar. He smiled at me.<br>'So Tori,' he said, 'Where did your date run to?' I looked down at my shoes. 'I didn't bring a date, Beck. You knew that.' He looked confused. His breath reeked of beer. I reached for the bottle and pried it from his grip. 'How many of these did you have?'  
>He frowned and tried to count on his fingers. When he finally realized he really didn't know, he smiled sheepishly. 'Maybe I should stop. . . After this one?' He reached for the bottle. I pushed it further back as he leaned over me to reach for it. 'Oh, come on, Tori. Don't be such a buzz kill.' I breathed in deeply. 'Where's Jade?' Beck's face contorted. 'I don't know,' he admitted. When I looked at him questioningly, he sighed. 'We broke up.' I raised my eyebrows. 'Again?' He grimaced. 'Now can I have my beer?'<br>I shook my head stubbornly and pulled him onto the dancefloor. 'Come on,' I said, 'dance instead of drink. Must be better.' He grinned at me. 'The company is certainly improving.' He ran his eyes up and down my body and seemed to be pleased by what he saw. I hit his arm. 'Beck! Behave, will you?' He grinned again and wrapped his arms around my waist. 'Oh Tori, don't pretend you don't like it when I look at you.' I swallowed my angry retort. It was quite useless to say anything else. He smirked and his lips brushed past my ear as he whispered, 'Told you.' _

_At that moment, the music slowed and morphed through a bridge into a couple's dance. Beck used my moment of distraction to swirl onto the dancefloor. 'What are you doing?' I hissed as he wrapped his arms even tighter around my waist. He smiled suggestively. 'You know, dancing with you would be more fun if you put your arms around me too.' Smirking, I wrapped my arms around his neck. I couldn't deny I liked the way his body was now pressed up against mine, or that his smile made me unable to breathe for at least a few seconds, but still. Jade would kill me. Unfortunately, Beck seemed not to care at all. His eyes sparked and he leaned in, his breath mingling with mine. As his lips met mine, it was as if fireworks exploded everywhere around us, covering us in a bright multicolored light. Then I remembered where I was. I remembered who I was kissing._

_Breathing heavily now, I pulled away, shocked. Beck stared at me. 'Why can't you relax?' He said. I could've hit myself on the head; Beck was only looking for a distraction from Jade. I turned around, angrily trying to blink away the hot tears in my eyes.  
>I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't. Suddenly his arms were around me. 'Tori, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.' I wrestled my way out of his embrace and fled the dancefloor. I hurried into the school, hoping there wouldn't be anyone there, hoping I could just be alone there. I heard Beck calling my name, but I didn't turn around. How could I be that stupid? He would just go back to Jade. He always would. He liked me. He loved Jade. <em>

_At the door, he caught up with me and forced me to turn around. 'Tori, what –' he broke off. He pressed his lips on mine again. I forgot how to breathe; what was it about him that made me feel like an idiot every time I got near him? His tongue grazed my lips, and I moaned. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and pushed me back against the lockers. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I wove my fingers into his dark, beautiful hair and deepened the kiss. His breathing was uneven as he wrapped my legs around his waist and slid his hands under my shirt. Keeping our lips in constant contact, he stumbled to the janitor's closet and closed the door firmly behind him. As he began to fumble with my jeans, an alarm bell in my head went off._

_Hold up. We were at school. He had a girlfriend. I leaned back, pulling my lips from his with a pained groan. 'Beck, we can't. We shouldn't.' He shook his head and pressed his lips on mine again. 'Tori, don't be silly. You want me just as bad as I want you right now.' I opened my mouth to deny it, but I couldn't. Beck smiled in triumph and leaned in again. Yet, this time, I pushed him away. 'Not like this, Beck. Not like this,' I whispered before opening the door and striding outside, leaving a very confused, very ruffled Beck. _

* * *

><p>Neither of us had mentioned that night to anyone else, and after the 'incident', I had stopped thinking about Beck like that completely.<br>All the feelings I had once had for Beck were now André's. Beck's kiss had given me fireworks. André gave me entire lightshows. Beck was very well aware of that. Beck was still looking at me. I sighed and leaned forward. 'OK, so maybe it's a good idea, but don't you think everyone will see right through it?' Beck shrugged. 'That's why it's brilliant. Because everyone will think we'll be acting, while we'll actually just be –' I put my hand over his mouth. 'No. We can do the scene, fine, but we're not telling anyone how real it is. I never even told André.' Beck grinned. 'Sure, Tori. Whatever. Want to practice?' He leaned forward just as the bell rang. André got up and smirked at Beck. 'Whoa man, don't be so eager.' I smiled weakly at André and got up.  
>André put his arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss on my lips. 'Come on,' he said, 'free period. Want to grab a coffee?' I smiled at him. 'That would be just great.' I let André lead me away from Beck. When we were out of earshot, I raised my eyebrows. 'André Harris, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous.' He tried to look innocent. 'Me? Jealous? Of Beck? Why would I be jealous of Beck?'<br>I smiled. 'I don't know.' He sighed. 'It's just . . . You liked him. I know you did. And I bet he liked you too. And you have to kiss, and –' I stopped and pulled him back by his arm. 'André, I don't feel that way about Beck. Not anymore. He doesn't like me like that either. It's just stage kissing. You have to kiss Cat. Should I be jealous?' He smirked. 'No.' 'Good,' I said, and wrapped my arms around his neck. 'So, show me exactly what you'd be doing to Cat if the scene were real.' He smiled and slowly lowered his head, bringing his lips to meet mine.

* * *

><p><strong>SIKOWITZ'S CLASSROOM<br>BECK'S POV**

I couldn't believe my luck. Just when I had thought all hope for me had gone, I got partnered with Tori. I was glad for André that he had her, seriously, but I was sickeningly jealous.  
>Unlike Tori, I hadn't forgotten what she had said the night of the party. And I knew she still had a thing for me. Her fluttering today had only demonstrated that.<br>The first weeks after they'd been attacked, I spent most of my free time in the hospital, sitting by Tori's bed. I had even broken up with Jade again.  
>But then she woke up again, and all she cared about was André. And all she wanted to know was if he was pissed at her. When André had told me they had slept together, I had had an extremely hard time to hide my rage.<br>_Why would he get what I so desperately wanted? _She had seriously broken my heart into a million pieces, each one small enough to fit through the eye of a needle. But I was determined to win her back, and the scene was the perfect excuse.  
>Though I knew she was almost always with André, it shouldn't be too hard to find a night where he'd be practicing his scene with Cat. I smiled.<br>I would win her heart back within minutes. If I could get her on her own again.

Jade snuck up behind me and wove her fingers into mine. I strained my imagination to think it was Tori. 'I cannot believe Sikowitz partnered me with that dork,' she said, gesturing at Sinjin. I grinned.  
>'I know, right. Hilarious.' She slapped my arm. 'Dude!' I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, as André had done with Tori, and smiled at her. 'Come on,' I said, 'we have to get to class.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>STARBUCKS LA<br>TORI'S POV**

I sipped my coffee as I waited for André; he was getting himself a chocolatechipmuffin. I honestly tried to put my conversation with Beck out of my head, but somehow, it kept spooking me. Something about his tone scared me.  
>I knew Beck would never do anything to hurt me, but still. André smiled as he returned to the table, triumphantly holding up the muffin. 'The last one!' he exclaimed, his face lighting up with a broad smile.<br>I checked my watch. 'How fast can you eat that?' He frowned. 'Why?' 'We have to be back in school in ten minutes.' His smile faltered, but reappeared within seconds. 'Watch me,' he said and started cramming the muffin into his mouth. I laughed and looked away. 'No thank you.' When he had managed to squeeze the whole thing into his mouth, he tried to smile. I laughed and got up. As I leaned closer to him, I said, 'I am not kissing you like that.' He pretended to faint in shock, causing me to burst into laughter. 'Come on,' I said, tugging at his sleeve, 'we've got to go.' He smirked, his mouth still full of muffin, and got up. I turned around, intending to leave the shop, but André prevented that very effectively by wrapping his arms around my waist so tight, I could've struggled all I liked, I couldn't get him to let go. 'André,' I laughed as I tried to avoid his chocolate-covered lips, 'let go. Dude, we have to go.' He grinned, 'Not until you kiss me.'  
>I struggled for another minute, realized it was hopeless and turned around. Besides, André's kisses combined with chocolate? How much better could it get?<p>

I was right. My lips met his in a fountain of sparks and fireworks. He dragged his fingers down my spine. I shivered, leaned back and smiled. 'We have to–' He shook his head. 'Oh no,' he whispered, 'More.' He pressed his lips on mine again. I wrestled from his grip a tiny bit. 'We're in public, André. Behave, will you?' He smiled suggestively. 'Just one more,' he pleaded. His eyes sparkled.  
>I caved and leaned in to kiss him one more time.<p>

'Tori?' I froze. André's eyes were now fixed on something behind my back. I swallowed. I wished it wasn't who I thought it was. I turned around.  
>My stomach plummeted to my feet. My dad stood just a few feet away, his eyes wide with shock. André quickly dropped his arms and let them swing uselessly by his sides. 'Dad,' I said, feeling . . . Confused. Guilty. Messed up. He stared at us, at a complete loss of words. I didn't know what to say. André was shocked.<br>'What. . . You. .' He stopped again and ran his hand through his hair. Then he turned around and walked away. I cursed and picked up my bag. 'Make up an excuse for me,' I told André, 'please?' He nodded. 'Sure. See you later?' I nodded, pressed a quick kiss on his cheek and hurried after my dad.

'Dad!' I yelled, ignoring the people that turned to stare at me as I blew past them. 'Dad! Wait!' Finally I caught up with him. 'Dad. Stop it. You have no right to react like this.' He turned around, furious. 'Don't I? My seventeen-year-old daughter was raped and beaten to an inch of death, swore she never wanted to be with anyone again, and now I catch her making out with some boy!' 'André isn't some boy! How dare you even think I would do something like that?' I yelled, as he dragged me into an abandoned house. My dad's face was red with anger. 'You promised me! You promised to stay well away from boys! Obviously letting André stay over so many times was a serious error on my part!' I threw my hands in the air in desperation. 'He didn't do anything I didn't want him to!' His nostrils flared. 'How could you? I trusted you!' 'And I trusted you! Do you honestly believe I would do something like this unless I was absolutely sure of André? I love him, dad! Is that so hard to believe?' He groaned and grabbed my shoulders. 'You're a kid, Tori! I'm sure right now it feels like . . .' 'Feels like what?' I screeched. 'Dad, he looks at me and sees me! ME! Not a pathetic little girl who was raped! He loves who I am! He understands every part of me!' My dad rolled his eyes. 'That's what they all say to get what they want!' 'He didn't have to say anything!' His mouth fell open. 'How can you bear it? You flinch whenever I touch you.' His voice was hurt; uneven.  
>I pondered the question. I had wondered too, why André could touch me without giving me flashbacks. The only thing I was sure about was ridiculous.<br>'He makes me feel safe. He can make me feel like none of it ever happened.' I rubbed my upper arms. 'He . . . Loves me. Even after everything that happened. He can look past the hurt little scared girl. D'you know how much that means to me?' My dad examined my expression. Then he shook his head. 'Tori, I won't have you do this. No wonder your tests were all negative.' I shook my head too. 'That wouldn't have changed anything. I asked!' He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. 'Tori, I just don't want you to be hurt again.' I hugged him and whispered, 'He would never hurt me, dad.'

After several minutes, my dad slowly let go and smiled down at me warily. 'Okay, Tori. Because it's André. Because we know him. I'll trust him because you do. But if he puts so much of a toe out of line, you can't see him anymore.' I nodded; this was the furthest I would get today. 'Come,' he said, 'I'll give you a ride to school.'  
>I smiled and followed him outside, into the bright sunlight.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Hi, I hope this chapter clears some things up for some people xD<br>And for the record, I am not turning this into a Bori :) Just thought it'd be a nice twist :p**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	6. Oops

**Hi guys**

**This isn't a real chapter, but this is the only way I could think of to get a message out to all of you.  
>In the reviews, some of you have said that the part of the stage kissing resembles another fanfiction as does the drunk kissing part.<strong>

**I can't say that I used this on purpose, but if I did, I am so so sorry to the writers of those fanfictions!  
>I'll give you guys all the credit you deserve! If someone has something to add here, please do.<br>The stage kissing I have read somewhere indeed, but it has never been my intention to just copy it.  
>So to that writer too, I'm so sorry! All the credits go to you if it is so much alike. I was just thinking about stage kissing in general. Maybe that fanfiction influenced me without me really realizing.<br>My head can be quite the mess sometimes.**

**Again, to all the people who feel like my work resembles theirs just a little bit too much, I'm really sorrry!  
>All the credit goes to you!<strong>

**Xx Annaelle**


	7. Wrong

**Wrong**

**ONE WEEK LATER – VEGA RESIDENCE  
>TORI'S POV<strong>

The doorbell rang. Dreading the upcoming confrontation, I dragged myself from the couch and went to open the door. In my doorway stood Beck Oliver – still ridiculously handsome, vaguely attractive, and smiling suggestively.  
>'Hi Beck,' I said, feigning a happy voice, 'Come in.' He grinned. 'Hi Tori,' he said, stretching out the 'o' in my name just a little bit too long.<br>He glanced around. 'Nobody home?' I gestured at the couch. 'Oh, yeah. Trina's upstairs. Dad'll be back in half an hour.' Beck smiled and sat down on the couch, completely relaxed. I fidgeted. 'Um. . . Can I . . . Do you . . . Do you want a drink?' He smiled his perfect white smile at me. 'I would love some lemonade.' I smiled despite myself.  
>As I went to get his lemonade, my phone – that was still on the couch – vibrated. As I turned, I saw Beck pick it up and a smirk appear on his handsome features. 'André texted you,' he called, 'do you want me to read it out loud?' I ran towards him – he had jumped up and was walking back, holding my phone high – and tried to grab my phone from his hands. 'Beck!' I said, 'Give me my phone.' I jumped up, but I couldn't reach his hand, no matter how high I jumped. He laughed and avoided a blow to his head while reading the text out loud. 'Hi Babe,' he started, running to the other side of the room, 'I miss you already,' he laughed. I threw a pillow at his head.<br>'Beck! My phone!' 'I hope Beck is behaving,' he smirked as I reached for his hand again, 'and that you can get the scene done tonight.' He walked backwards, still reading from the text. 'See you tomorrow,' he smirked, 'Love you! Kisses, André.'  
>He ran around the couch as I lunged for the phone. 'Bit cheesy,' Beck said, frowning, 'isn't he?' As he looked down at the phone again, I took advantage of the distraction and pushed him backwards, onto the couch, snatched my phone from his hands. 'Hah!' I exclaimed and held up the phone triumphantly.<br>Beck didn't seem to think we were done yet though. He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me down on the couch, onto his lap. I dropped the phone again, and he smirked. 'So,' he said, 'Seems like I'm winning this one.' I kicked at him and struggled to get up. Finally, I broke free and smirked. 'No you didn't. I am victorious!' I proclaimed. He grinned. 'Where have I heard that before?' I checked my watch. 'It's already eight. We should get started.' I glanced at the kitchen and saw the glass of lemonade on the table. 'Right,' I said, 'your lemonade.' I hurried to the kitchen, got the glass and turned back to Beck, who was looking at me with the most curious expression on his face. I handed the glass to him and sat down on the couch. 'So,' I said, 'Are we going to do this thing improv or run lines?' Beck sipped his lemonade and shrugged. 'We can do both. The kissing part, I would like to practice.' I smirked. 'I bet you would.'

He put the glass on the table and sat down next to me. 'Tori,' he said, 'Just start the scene.' I wanted to say something, but the way he looked at me was utterly distracting.  
>'Beck,' I said, 'Stop looking at me like that.' He smiled again. 'Like what?' I swallowed. 'Like you are about to kiss me.' Beck leaned closer. 'Who says I'm not?' I leaned back. 'Beck. No.' He shoved a little bit closer. 'Tori,' he whispered. My breathing was uneven. I hated it. Beck leaned closer. His face was inches from mine.<br>Beck's right hand stroked my cheek. I tried to remember why I shouldn't want him to kiss me. But before I reached a decision though, his lips touched mine. Just like before, I forgot how to breathe. Agonizingly slow, he crawled closer, his kisses more demanding. His hands found the hem of my shirt, and slid under it. I shivered as I remembered the tall man's hands on my skin. I pulled back, but Beck only leaned back for a split-second before he pressed his lips on mine again. This time, I didn't feel the flashback kind of thing. I pulled him closer, completely forgetting who I was kissing. Completely forgetting what I was doing. He let his lips wander from mine down to my neck, further down and he would've gone much further if my phone hadn't started ringing. I startled and realized what I was doing. I pulled back and jumped from the couch.  
>Beck stared at me. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to focus on my breathing. I pulled my shirt down and glanced at Beck. He was on the couch, his hair tangled and his cheeks flushed. I bet I didn't look any better. 'Oh God,' I sighed and turned around. 'Can't I ever be alone with you?' He shrugged. 'Tori, I am sorry. I didn't mean to push you or anything.' I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair again. 'Beck, you didn't have to push me. That's exactly the problem!' I swallowed back tears of frustration. 'And I wouldn't have minded if you hadn't had Jade and I wouldn't have André.' Beck got up and groaned. 'Tori, I will break up with Jade for you; anytime. I did before, but then you and André . . And I,' he sighed and shrugged, 'I love her. Just not as much as I do you.' I groaned and bit my lip.<p>

After a few minutes of silence, I pointed at the door, trying to swallow the large lump that had risen in my throat. 'Please go. Please, Beck. Go.'  
>He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, closed it again and ran a hand through his hair. 'I'm sorry, Tori,' he whispered as he headed for the door. When the door shut behind him, I fell back on the couch. I felt horrible. I rubbed my temples, and sighed when Trina came stomping down the stairs. 'What are you looking so depressed about?' She asked in an uninterested sort of way. At that moment, I decided not to tell anyone what had happened between me and Beck. I smiled at her. 'Nothing.' Trina raised her eyebrows. I smiled again. 'Nothing at all, Trina.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>THE NEXT DAY – HOLLYWOOD ARTS – BECK'S LOCKER<br>BECK'S POV**

Okay, so maybe last night hadn't turned out exactly the way I wanted it to, but I had achieved one goal; I had gotten Tori to admit there was still a part of her that liked me. I admit, kissing her might not have been the only way, but I just couldn't resist. And as soon as her lips touched mine, I was hooked.  
>I hoped that I could get her to talk today, before, maybe after our scene with Sikowitz. I stuffed my books in my backpack and glanced over my shoulder hopefully every time I heard the door open and close. Jade wasn't coming to school today. Something about her dad and a new car. I closed my locker door and turned around to find Tori standing only a few feet away. My heart seemed to beat just a little bit faster at the sight of her. She looked amazing. She was wearing a dark skinny jeans, sneakers and a tight, long, pink top. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back. I swallowed.<br>'Hi,' I said after an awkward silence. She smiled uncomfortably. 'Hi.' She seemed to make a decision, and approached me, glancing around to make sure no one was looking. 'Look, Beck. I don't want things to be weird between us after last night.' I bit my lip. That didn't predict much good. 'I don't want to tell André anything about this. I don't want you to tell Jade anything about it.' I grimaced. 'Tori,' I started, when the uncomfortable feeling in my gut started spreading throughout my entire body. 'I meant what I said. I want you, Tori.' I leaned closer to her. 'I love you, Tori. And I will fight for you.' She shook her head sadly. 'Beck,' she bit her lip before continuing, 'I don't want to be with you. Not anymore. I love André. You'd do better to just let me be.'

That hurt. It really hurt. Like she was ripping me into shreds, laughing during the process. I felt nauseated. I shook my head, refusing to hear her out. 'No, Tori,' I said, 'Please don't. There's something here,' I gestured to the space between us, 'between is. You can't deny that!' Tears shimmered in her eyes. 'I know, Beck. I know. I can't deny. That's why I have to do this.' She reached out and rested her fingertips on my cheek. 'I'm sorry, Beck.' I snorted. 'Right. Just leave me alone, Tori.' She dropped her gaze to her shoes.  
>After an awkward silence, during which neither of us said anything, I lifted my eyes to her face. She was crying silently. Shining tears ran down her cheeks, and once again, I found myself struck by her beauty.<br>I pulled her into a hug. Her hair smelled like strawberries. Looking back, I can only thank God we were alone in the entrance hall. She wrapped her arms around my neck and cried on my shirt.  
>When she leaned back to say something, I did the only thing that seemed normal at that moment. I kissed her. She had just told me she never wanted to be with me. And yet, my lips moved against hers, my tongue was grazing against hers, my hands were on her hips.<br>I slowly rotated her, pushing her back against the lockers. Her fingers locked in my hair, and I bit her lip, causing her to moan softly. I slipped my tongue into her mouth smoothly and pulled her closer.  
>My skin felt highly sensitive, and wherever Tori's skin touched mine, it felt like flames running through my veins.<br>She was hot. She was all the things I ever wanted. Suddenly, she made to pull away. I groaned painfully and pulled away.

She shook her head. 'This is why I can't do this, Beck,' she whispered, 'the whole friend-thing.' I kept my eyes locked on hers. 'I can't be alone with you without kissing you. Without wanting to at least.' She wiped her hair from her face and straightened her clothes. 'But I love André. I'm not choosing you over him.' She bit her lip. 'I couldn't.' My heart broke. I swallowed, but hid what I felt.  
>'I understand,' I whispered. 'Beck, I never wanted you to be hurting over me. You love Jade.' I shook my head. 'I love you more.' She shook her head. 'No you don't. Forget about me, Beck. You'll only get hurt.' I bit my lip and turned around to hide my tears. 'Too late, Tori.'<br>She took my hand and forced me to turn around again. 'Beck?' I slowly looked at her. 'I really am sorry.' I snorted and shook my head. 'Whatever, Tori.' I turned around and left Tori standing alone by the lockers.

* * *

><p><strong>HOLLYWOOD ARTS - SIKOWITZ'S CLASSROOM<br>TORI'S POV**

André and Cat were on stage, performing a simple, straightforward, yet intense love scene.  
>We had to sit in pairs, so I sat next to Beck, who refused to look at me. I wondered if he could pretend to not be mad at me during the scene.<br>I hadn't meant to hurt him. I hadn't even known how much he liked me. How was I supposed to have known? He was with Jade.  
>And I loved André. Didn't I? I glanced at André and felt a smile appear on my lips. How could I even doubt that? I did love him. André and Cat's scene ended with the required 23-second kiss, which was absolutely very believable and firework kind of kiss.<br>The whole class applauded and I gave André a thumbs up as he returned to his seat, at the other side of the classroom. Sikowitz looked around.  
>'Awesome! That was quite the stage kiss! Tori! Beck! You're up!' I smiled and got up, uncomfortably glancing at Beck.<p>

As we got on the stage, Beck turned to the class and explained what our scene was all about. Sikowitz sat on his chair in the back of the class and clapped his hands. 'Perfect!' He called. 'A heated scene! And. . . ACTION!'  
>Beck leaned to the wall, pretending to be quite drunk. I forgot my worries and became the girl I had to be in the scene. Beck beckoned me to come closer. We talked, redoing everything we did the night we had first kissed. When Beck swirled me around, into our couple's dance, his eyes met mine. 'Liz will kill me if she finds out I danced with you, she will kill me, Avan.' Beck smiled lazily. 'She shouldn't care. She broke up with me.' And then, before he should have, he leaned in and pressed his lips on mine. Though I was confused, I acted with him and pretended to kiss him back.<br>He pulled me closer and his tongue grazed by my lip. I was confused. Why was he doing this? We were only supposed to stage kiss. This was getting out of hand. He was kissing for real. I slowly pulled back. 'Avan,' I whispered, 'we shouldn't be kissing. Liz will kill me.'  
>He stared at me. He shook his head. 'She's not my girlfriend anymore. I like you better.' And yet again, he pressed his lips on mine again. He pushed me back against a wall and wrapped my legs around his waist. 'Beck,' I whispered to his lips. 'Not too far.' He shook his head and kissed me again. I counted the seconds, allowing Beck's hands to roam freely over my body and his tongue to move against mine. When I reached the count of 23, I slowly started to pull away. 'Avan,' I said, 'we really shouldn't.' He smirked. 'Oh come on, don't pretend. You want me as much as I do you, Tori.' The whole class gasped, Jade looked like she could've murdered someone and André seemed to be stunned in shock. Even I was.<br>Beck never broke character. Never. Until now. I stared at him. Sikowitz got up and clapped his hands. 'Okay everyone. Class dismissed.' Scraping of chairs brought me back to this world. I slowly turned away from Beck, who looked horrified, to André, who was still frozen in his seat.

Jade was behind Beck, a murderous look in her eyes. I quickly backed away. André got up, reached for my hand and pulled me closer to him. The look in his eyes was hard to describe.  
>Possesive. Scared. Loving. I glanced at Beck. The look in his eyes was easier to describe. Agony.<br>I turned to André, trying to find words to say anything. This whole situation was so wrong.  
>'Tori?' André's voice trembled. 'Beck?' Jade's voice was deadly. 'What the hell is going on?' I turned to André. 'Nothing. We just got caught up in the scene. Right, Beck?'<br>Beck nodded, and both André and Jade seemed to relax. So did I. 'See?' I told André and wove my fingers into his. I pressed my lips on his for a short moment. 'No.' Beck's voice drifted from behind me. 'No. Nothing is alright.' I turned around, horrifed. Beck turned to Jade. 'I want to break up with you.' My mouth fell open, André gasped and Jade shrieked, 'WHAT?'  
>'I. Want. To. Break. Up. With. You.' Beck slowly repeated. I couldn't remember how to breathe properly. <em>Oh my God. He won't; this isn't happening. <em>Beck turned back to me. 'André, I'm in love with her.' 'WHAT?' André and Jade cried together. I stared at him, at a complete loss of words. Beck raised his hands. 'I wish I wasn't. I tried, I really tried not to. But . . . I love her.' 'Tori?' André whispered. I turned around.  
>'Tori?' Beck pleaded. My head whipped from side to side - Beck to André - ten times in that minute.<p>

The whole thing was just so wrong. Beck or André.  
>Fireworks or lightshows?<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So, here's the next chapter xD<br>Enjoy! Hope you liked it!**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	8. What Now?

**What now?**

**TORI'S POV**

Honestly, I know doubting was stupid, idiotic, foolish. But can you blame me?  
>No matter how much I loved André, there was a part of me I couldn't ignore, a part of me that was still really into Beck. And, just when I had given up that part of me, he had decided to wake it again, making me feel like being torn in half.<br>I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say, because, honestly, what do you say when your boyfriend's best friend, the one you used to crush on before you BFF became your BF, comes up to tell you and everyone else he's in love with you?

So there I was, caught between two fires – neither one of them wavering. André's eyes were large and shocked; Beck's were large and pleading. I loved André, but I sure as hell liked Beck too. Feeling conflicted wasn't something new to me.  
>Feeling torn was. Finally, I managed to open my mouth. Every eye in the room was directed at me, making me feel even more uncomfortable than I had before. 'I'm sorry,' I said, looking at the tips of my shoes. André reached out his hand. 'Sorry for what, Tori?' 'Yeah, Vega,' Jade added, 'For what?' I threw my hands in the air. I was frustrated.<br>_Why did everyone have to complicate things?_ 'For all this! None of this would have happened if it weren't for me, so. . . I'm just sorry, okay?'  
>Beck smiled wryly. 'No, Tori, you shouldn't be. I should be. It's all my fault. I get it,' he said, jumped from the stage and took my hand in his. André's eyes shot daggers at it. 'André over me,' Beck whispered, and I saw tears in his eyes. I nodded slowly. 'Sorry, Beck,' I whispered. He blinked furiously and walked backwards, away from me and André, away from Jade. He held on to my hand for as long as he could though.<p>

Slowly, my fingers slipped from his and he stood by the door, all alone. Jade stared at him, unbelieving. 'You're kidding me,' she said. 'You have got to be kidding me.' She pointed accusingly at me. 'You are seriously breaking up with me for a girl you can't even get?' Beck laughed softly. 'I can get her.' André shook his head. 'Beck, you're my guy, but going after my girl? That's a low move.' Beck nodded. 'I know. That's why I told you. I needed her to choose. She did. I won't try again.' I sighed in relief, but André frowned. 'Again? You tried before?' My cheeks began to burn and I felt slightly nauseated. Beck nodded in my direction. 'Ask her.' Both Jade and André turned to me. 'He tried, yeah, but I didn't . . .' Beck smirked. 'Come on, Tori. I spilled. Your turn.' André turned back to me. 'Tori, what the hell is he talking about?'

Deep down, I cursed Beck. I bit my lip. 'We kissed. That's all. But we kissed.' André looked heartbroken. Jade scandalized. 'You. Kissed. My. Boyfriend?' She said slowly, imminent threat clearly in her voice. 'When?' André whispered. Beck leaned to the doorframe. 'Just now,' he said. 'On stage. Couldn't you tell the difference?' 'André,' I said, 'please, he kissed me. I pushed him back every time.' André scowled. 'Every time? Just how many times have you been cheating on me?' I reached for his hand, but he pulled it away. Jade sided with André. 'Yeah. Tell us. How many times?' I felt tears fill up my eyes. 'Twice. Maybe three times.' Jade gazed at Beck. He shrugged. 'Something like that. But André,' André looked up, 'she's right. She did push me away. She said she had you. Don't just dump her because I made a mistake.' A tiny bit of hope sparked in André's eyes, but it disappeared as Jade called out, 'Don't be so stupid. She's done it once, who's to say she won't do it again?' André's eyes locked on mine. 'Please,' I whispered, 'please, André. You know me. I won't.'  
>He swallowed and dropped his gaze.<br>'Yeah,' he whispered, 'I thought I did.' Then he turned and walked out of the classroom. I wanted to follow him, but Jade stopped me. 'Don't you dare,' she hissed, 'hurting me is okay, but hurting one of my best friends. . . There I draw the line. Stay with your precious little Canadian boyfriend,' she spat and pushed me back into Beck's arms. She stomped out of the room after throwing us a dirty look.

I wrestled my way out of Beck's arms, turned around and screamed at him. 'Now are you happy? Don't you see what you've done?' He opened his mouth to say something, closed it again and shook his head. 'Tori, I'm sorry. But I just couldn't keep it from him. He's my best friend.' I groaned. 'Beck! Not anymore! And now, I don't have him either! You have absolutely no fucking idea of what you just broke.'  
>He laughed wryly. 'Don't I? Or did you just fail to notice that I dumped the girl I have been with for two years for you? For you, Tori! You make it seem like it is all absolutely nothing!' I cried in frustration. 'I told you not to, Beck! NOT! Do you even know what that word means?'<br>I felt hot tears well up in my eyes again, but tried to blink them away angrily.  
>'You took all the safe things I had left in my life! How on earth am I supposed to get through the day without André always there for me?' Despite my efforts to blink them away, tears ran down my cheeks. 'Tori,' Beck started, but I interrupted him.<br>'No! No! I'm done with you! I HATE you, Beck Oliver! Don't you ever come near me again!'  
>I stomped out of the room, leaving Beck alone, tears running down his cheeks.<p>

* * *

><p>News spread quickly through Hollywood Arts, and it was news that sent gossip flying all around the school. Beck Oliver – the hottest guy in Hollywood Arts – had broken up with Jade West, and rumor had it, he had done so because he was in love with Tori Vega – the talented new girl. Things that were supporting this theory were that Tori Vega and André Harris had broken up too, though neither of them seemed all too happy about it. The only thing that didn't add up was that Tori and Beck were not a couple.<br>Being honest, they hardly spoke to one another.

This drove the students crazy, for everyone wanted to know now if the hottest couples in Hollywood Arts, had suddenly just ceased to exist?

* * *

><p><strong>Hi!<strong>

**I know, this is a really short chapter, but I promise I will update really soon, because the next one is nearly done.  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading anyway, and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle  
><strong>


	9. All Over Again

**All Over Again  
>TORI'S POV<strong>

A month had passed since I had last spoken to both André and Beck. I was hardly getting through. Every time someone spoke to me from behind my back, or when someone put a hand on my shoulder, I startled or even had flashbacks. Nightmares dominated my nights when my dreams weren't filled with André's kisses. Imaginary kisses.  
>Kisses I would never again feel, all because of my stupid mistake.<br>I had caught myself listening to every song André had ever written, singing along with its every line.

Today, three weeks and 6 days after we had broken up – hey, who's counting – I had promised Cat we could go and see a movie. She had picked some chick flick and invited Jade too. I wasn't too thrilled about that, but, as I thought while putting on makeup, maybe it would give us the chance to straighten things between us. I checked my watch. Cat would be here in an hour. I got up and checked my appearance in the full body length mirror. My hair curled and streamed loose down my back. I was wearing a faded skinny jeans, a purple tank top and no shoes. I was wondering which shoes to wear when the doorbell rang. I didn't move. Trina would get it.  
>Then I remembered Trina had ditched class today to go with our parents to New York for the week. Sighing, I got up and headed down the stairs.<br>I checked my watch again. It was only six PM. I frowned. Maybe Cat was early.

I opened the door and started talking. 'Hey, I wasn't expecting you until –' I stopped, seeing who exactly stood on my doorstep, looking just as confused and yet exhilarated as I did. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. André smiled at me, dropped his bike, pulled me closer by my hand and pressed his lips on mine. It was as if I couldn't think straight anymore. Like I couldn't think at all. I stumbled back inside, making sure André's lips were in constant contact with mine, and smiled when he kicked the door shut. As I leaned back to breathe – which was very low on my to-do-list right now – he stroked my face and pressed a kiss on my forehead, nose, each cheeks and finally my lips again. I ran my hand through his dreads, moaning softly when he bit my lip.  
>His hands eagerly explored every part of my body before sliding under my shirt. His lips traced my neck, down to the lace of my bra before slowly moving back up again. I groaned as he pulled my shirt over my head. His shirt was quick to follow mine. I traced his abs with my fingers, dragging them back and forth, causing André to growl softly. Having stumbled through most of the room already, I slowly pushed him down on the couch. He pulled me down on his lap instantly, almost as if he couldn't stand not to have my skin touching his for longer than ten seconds. At least, that's what it felt like for me. André had set fire to my skin, limbs, my blood. All I desired now were his touches, so numerous, yet so precious.<p>

André's lips moved down to my neck, before he leaned back, breathing heavily. Slowly I ran my hands down his chest, down to his trousers and pressed my lips on his again. As I unbottoned it, he breathed in faster and whispered, 'Tori. . Baby, condoms. . .' I shook my head. 'Why? Nothing's going to happen anyway.' He groaned loudly as I slipped his trousers off, feeling him pressed up against me.  
>He pushed me down on the couch, unbottoned my trousers and pulled it down slowly, running his hands over my legs, causing goosebumps to spring up all over my legs. He tossed my trousers over his shoulder and smirked at my expression when he traced his lips up my thigh. I moaned.<br>'God, Tori,' he whispered as he leaned over me to kiss my lips again, 'You're so damn beautiful.' He kissed me again. 'I love you, Tori Vega,' he whispered, 'I love you.' His hands moved down to my panties. I moaned again and dug my nails into his back as he slipped my panties off. 'I love you, André Harris,' I whispered in his ear and groaned as we started moving simultaneously.

Needless to say, we didn't say much else in the following minutes.

* * *

><p><strong>ANDRÉ'S POV<strong>

Now Tori was in my arms again, it was hard to recall exactly what had felt so wrong the past couple of weeks. This hadn't been what I had been dreaming about for weeks. It was much better. Already, her presence intoxicated me, her kisses addicted me. She breathed in deeply and looked up into my eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but I put a finger on her lips, silencing her effectively. 'Don't,' I whispered, 'don't bring him into this. I just got you back, I'm not in for losing you again.' She shook her head. 'I've been yours all along,' she said and pressed her lips on mine. 'And I have to say I'm so–' I kissed her again. When I leaned back she smiled. 'I don't want you to say it,' I said, pinching her lips between thumb and forefinger. 'Promise you won't say it.' She nodded. I slowly dropped my hand. 'Sorry!' she called and laughed when I tickled her tummy. 'Ah! No! André! Knock it off! Stop!' When she finally thought of calling a truce, the doorbell rang. Tori and I exchanged a glance before Tori yelled, 'I'll be just a minute!'  
>She jumped up and ran around the room, collecting pieces of clothing that had ended up just everywhere in the room. I grinned. She jumped on one leg, trying to get her jeans to fit so it wouldn't look as if she had put it on in a hurry. She pulled her shirt over her head, messing up her already frizzled hair, and gestured to me to keep quiet. I smiled again and pulled my boxer's back on. As Tori went to open the door, I located my jeans near the kitchen table and put it on.<br>Tori only opened the door an inch, to see who was there. 'Cat!' She exclaimed. 'Hey Tori. You ready?' Tori glanced back at me. 'Um, yeah, almost.' I could almost see Cat's expression. 'What do you mean almost? You texted me over an hour ago to say you were all ready to go.' Tori fidgeted, but another voice interrupted her. 'Dude. What the hell is taking so long? Yuk, Vega, you look horrible.' I grimaced. _Jade. Great. Just great. The one person I didn't want to run into right after making up with Tori. _'Yeah,' Tori started, 'I'll . . . Actually, do you mind if I skip girl's night out?' 'What?' Cat called out. 'Tori! You promised! Pretty, pretty please?' 'I know, Cat, I know, but something . . . Something came up.' Jade slipped in a nasty comment. 'Not that I care, but who's in there with you?' Tori glanced back at me. 'No one, Jade. Why would there be anyone in here with me?' I snatched my shirt from the floor and pulled it over my head just in time. Jade pushed Tori out of her way and barged in, stopping dead in her tracks as she spotted me. Her eyes slid over the mess Tori and I had made while 'making up' and her lips were pursed together. Cat followed her in.

'André!' she exclaimed. She glanced at Tori. 'Does this mean you two are a thing again?' I exchanged a glance with Tori. She shrugged and smiled. I laughed uncomfortably. 'Yo, little red.' I bit my lip. 'I don't know if it means we're a thing again. We're just working it out okay?' Cat jumped up and down with joy and clapped her hands. 'Yay! Tori and André got back together!' She turned to Jade. 'Maybe you and Beck can get back together too!' Jade crossed her arms over her chest. 'Right, yeah, and then we can go on a double date and I will have my boyfriend drool at Tori.' I sighed. 'Jade. Tori didn't ask for Beck to fall in love with her.' Jade scowled. 'Doesn't matter. He did. And she broke his heart. And yours, André. Have you forgotten all about that? And you just come running back at her when you first feel needy!' 'Jade!' Cat yelled.  
>I stared at Cat, as did Tori. Now I looked at Tori, her cheeks did seem quite red. Her lips were swollen.<br>I loved it. Cat looked scandalized at Jade. 'Why are you always grumpy? I love that my best friends have made up again. Maybe this means things can go back to the way they used to be.' Jade bit her lip, and for the first time, I caught a glimpse of the girl Beck had loved. The Jade no one else knew. 'It's never going to go back to the way it used to be, Cat,' she whispered and left the house as suddenly as she had come in. Cat threw her hands in the air in frustration. 'Jade!' she called as she followed her, 'Wait!'

Tori softly closed the door. I slipped my hands into my pockets and walked towards her, slow and deliberately taking my time. When I stood dirextly before her, she sighed and wrapped her arms around my waist. 'I guess this was the easiest way to tell Cat.' I wrapped my arms around her and pressed a kiss on her hair.  
>'I guess so.' She leaned back. 'So, did you mean it?' I frowned. 'Mean what?'<br>'That you wanted to work things out. That, there's a chance for us?' I smiled. 'Would I be here if I didn't think there was a chance?' She raised an eyebrow. 'So, you're not just here because I am absolutely irresistible?' I laughed and slowly pushed her back against the door. 'Don't push it, Latina,' I smiled. She grinned. 'You're the one doing all the pushing.'  
>I smiled and leaned in to kiss her. 'That could not be more true.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>TWO DAYS LATER<br>TORI'S POV**

André promised he'd take me out tonight, but had absolutely refused to tell me where we'd be going.  
>I was sitting cross-legged on the couch, all dressed up and ready to go, but André was late. He should have been here half an hour ago, and I couldn't help but worry.<br>I checked my Pear phone again, but there were no missed calls or messages.

Finally, a short knock on the door told me André had finally arrived. I jumped up and wrenched the door open. 'André!' I yelled and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back, smiled and whispered, 'Hi there yourself,' in my ear. I leaned back and looked at him. He was pale, and his smile was only half-hearted.  
>'André? What's wrong? Why are you so late?' He shook his head.<br>'Nothing. Nothing, and we should get going.' He turned to leave, but I held him back, feeling uneasy. 'André. Tell me.' He swallowed. 'Tori, you don't want to hear this.' I touched his hand. 'Yes, I do. Tell me.'  
>He gestured to the couch. I sat down again and reached for his hand as he sat down next to me.<p>

'Tori, I know this isn't what you want to hear. But you asked, and I don't want to lie to you.' He breathed in deeply. 'I saw Beck today.' I frowned. 'So? We see him every day at school.' André shook his head. 'I wasn't done yet. I saw Beck today, with a gang.' I bit my lip. 'We all knew he was having a hard time.' André raised his gaze to my eyes. 'Tori. This wasn't just a gang. These were the men that attacked us.'

My stomach plummeted to my feet.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know! Too short, but my muze seems to have abandoned me :-s<br>I don't really know what to say about the chapter, but please do excuse me, I am nearly drowning in homework and play rehearsels. **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**

**(btw, someone asked if Jade came back because I had written she wasn't at school. It should've said she wasn't at school YET, so I must've forgotten to type the yet. I apologize dearly!  
>Please do forgive me xD )<strong>


	10. Gangs Of Los Angeles

**Gangs of Los Angeles**

**TORI'S POV**

André's words seemed to have broken down the wall that I had built up around my life. My safe, uncomplicated, normal life. How could Beck be in league with that gang?  
>André was still holding my hands and examining my expression. 'Tori?' He whispered. 'Tori, say something.' I opened my mouth. I couldn't focus. 'Are you sure?' I managed to choke out. André nodded. 'Yeah. Sure it was Beck and sure it was the gang that attacked us.' There was not a hair on my head that now thought of going out that front door. 'But why would he–' André stroked a curl from my forehead and shook his head. 'I don't know, Tori. I have no idea why Beck would be stupid enough to engage with a gang like that.' I got up and pulled my phone from my pocket. André got up too. 'What are you doing?' I turned back to him. 'Calling him. I want to know what to hell he's up to.' André pulled my phone from my hands. 'What are you going to say? Hi Beck, Tori here, I know I broke your heart but what the hell are you doing with the guys that raped me?' I flinched and shrugged. 'Well, it would be better than nothing.'<br>André glanced at the phone in his hand and slowly handed it back to me. 'Then call him.' I bit my lip and scrolled down my contact's list until I reached Beck's name. I hesitated.  
>'Maybe I shouldn't call him.' André crossed his arms over his chest. 'I don't know, Tori. I don't know what we should do.'<p>

I sank onto the couch, feeling as if my legs had given in. I honestly couldn't believe Beck would be with them. Never. He was a good guy. One of the few I knew.  
>I trusted him. Beck was one of the first to be there for me after I had been raped. I pulled up the image of his face when I had first woken up. I remembered the first few days after I had woken up.<p>

* * *

><p><em>My room was overflowing with flowers. Roses, Lilies, and someone – I had a vague suspicion who – had sent me bush daisies. I wasn't allowed to leave the hospital. I wasn't even allowed more than two visitors per day. Most of the time, my parents proved to be an exception to that rule. The two visitors were friends and family.<br>Cat and Beck were there almost every day. Beck sometimes refused to leave before I was asleep, something I was secretly very grateful of. Robbie and Rex visited once or twice a week, when Cat couldn't visit, or when Beck and Jade went to visit André, whom I was not allowed to see either. Jade never visited me. Beck told me she spent most of her time with André, being more worried about his wellbeing than mine.  
>I sighed and leaned back into the pillows. A nurse entered the room, carrying a large tray filled with the most disgusting hospital food you could think of. <em>And they keep wondering why I don't eat much._ Beck had promised to come by later. I bit my lip and ignored the nurse's chatter, and stared out of the window. I could see the Hollywood sign from my window. I considered what Beck had told me yesterday when I had asked him how André was doing. 'He's doing fine, considering everything, Tori.' 'When can I see him?' Beck bit his lip. 'Maybe it would be a good idea to wait, Tori. At least until you can manage. Until you can cope with it.' _

_I shivered at the memory. I knew Beck was right. I didn't like it. I woke every night, screaming at the top of my voice, reliving the moments again and again in my haunted dreams. Every time Beck touched my arm – whether or not accidental – I'd whimper, shrink back into the pillows. Cat was the only one I trusted. The only one that didn't scare me. I cared for Beck – God, to be honest, I still had a thing for him – and I knew he would never even think about the things the men had done to me, but every single one of his touches brought back painful memories and flashbacks. Sickening feelings and images. Pain. Agony. Fear.  
>I shrugged the thought off and redirected my attention to the nurse. 'You are allowed to get up today. Just an hour or two, but it should feel better than laying on the darn bed all day.' I smiled. It might not have seemed to convincing, because she threw me a worried look. She helped me get up and hobble through the room, wincing whenever she bumped her elbow to my broken arm, and settle into the armchair.<br>My arm had been broken on three different places. Thus, I had to wear a ridiculous blue sling. My nose, badly bruised, had been packed in a idiotic bandage that made me look like a sick clown. _

_I glanced out the window and sighed. I'm not sure how long I just sat there and stared out of the window, but it must've been quite a while, because when I checked the clock, it read 11 AM already. Suddenly, Beck's voice rang out from somewhere behind me. 'Woah, you're up!' I turned around, smirking and looked at Beck, who leaned against the door frame, smiling mischievously. 'And I'm wearing a horrible sling and I have to ring the bell every time I want to get up. Your point?' He smiled widely and approached me. He leaned over me, glancing out of the window. 'What are you looking at?' I sighed, ignoring the tingly feeling his presence gave me. 'Nothing really. Just looking.' He smiled and kneeled next to the chair, smiling up at me. 'How are you feeling today?' I shrugged. 'I only woke up once last night.' He smiled. 'That's good, right?' Not thinking, he put his hand on mine. I froze. He quickly moved his hand. 'Tori, I'm sorry.' I bit my lip. 'No, it's okay. I've got to learn to trust men again. I have to learn they don't all want to hurt me.' Beck examined my expression. His eyes were locked on mine._

'_I would never hurt you, Tori.' _

* * *

><p>Looking back, I thought myself a fool for not seeing there was something between us. But I believed what he had said back then. I still believed him.<br>André sat down next to me. I looked at him. 'Maybe we shouldn't do anything. Maybe we . . . We should just go out.' André stared at me. 'Tori,' he began, but I shook my head. 'If we are ever going to live our lives like they are normal again, we have to get over it.' André bit his lip. 'And besides, what are the odds of us running into the same gang again?' He shrugged. 'I don't know, but Tori, is that really the best idea?' I got up and threw my hands up. 'I don't know, André! It probably isn't, but I don't want to lock myself in my house every time I hear something about a gang. I refuse to be victimized any further.'

André sighed. Knowing me as well as he did, he knew there was no way he could possibly change my mind. He headed for the door and waited while I got my purse and jacket. Neither of us spoke while we headed for the car. When I got in, I remembered he still hadn't told me where he was going to take me. As he fired up the engine, I smiled at him. 'Stop looking so glum. Where are we going?'  
>André grinned. 'It's a surprise, Tori. You know the meaning of the surprise, right?' I scowled. 'Yes I do. But I hate surprises. You know that.' I pouted. He laughed. 'Well, I promise, you'll like this one.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>LATER THAT EVENING<strong>

**ANDRÉ'S POV**

I'd been absolutely right. Tori had been delighted to see the little Chinese restaurant again. Granted, we were there so often it wasn't really special anymore, but I had made sure it was for her.  
>At the end of the evening, I had given her two fortune cookies. One said, 'I will always love you.' The other contained a small, silver ring. I know it's cheesy, but I knew she'd love it.<br>And boy, had she. She had all but jumped over the table to kiss me. Afterwards, we'd seen a movie, although I don't recall much of the movie itself. I had been most distracted when my girlfriend started kissing me halfway through the first half of the movie. Luckily, we were seated on the top row of the seats, and the nearest people were at least six rows below.  
>Tori had been right to tell me we just had to go out. We were having a great time, and I almost felt like a normal couple; not like two people who fell in love after something horrible happened.<p>

We were heading back to the car, Tori holding my hand, her fingers woven into mine, and it could not have felt any more natural or right.  
>When we reached the car, she turned back to me and pressed her lips on mine. I smiled and pushed her back against the car, grinning as she twisted her fingers in my dreads. When she slipped her hand under my shirt, I did feel like we were pushing it just a little bit too far, so I pulled back - with an almighty effort - and smiled at her. 'We're still in public,' I whispered. She smiled suggestively. 'I don't care.'<br>I smiled, despite myself. 'But I do. Come on, get in, I'll take you home, and I'll let you do whatever you like to me.' Her smile widened. 'Promise?' I raised my eyebrows. 'God, Tori, you have a dirty mind,' I whispered as she pulled me closer by my shirt to kiss me again.

'Well, look who we have here.' Tori stiffened and my heart started beating frantically. I slowly turned around to find a gang of 16 men staring and smiling at us. I felt goosebumps on Tori's arms. The tall man in front of the gang was smirking at us. 'It sure is nice to see you two again.' I pushed Tori against the car and stepped in front of her. I was still holding her hand, and her other hand was tugging at the back of my shirt.  
>'Can't say the same,' I spat. He laughed. 'I can imagine.' He cocked his head to side. 'A little bird told me you told on us. The cops seem to know all about us. ' He laughed again, but it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight.<br>'You, little girl, had them take a sperm sample.' Tori squeezed my hand. 'Look, mate, just leave us. We didn't do anything.' He smirked and pointed at me. 'You were not supposed to live. Neither of you. We usually don't allow our new little friends to walk away when we have more fun together than just robbery.' He shifted his gaze to Tori, still half-hidden behind my back. 'And we definately had more fun together.'  
>'Come on, man,' I started, 'just let us go.' He laughed like a bloody maniac again and pulled a gun from his waistband. He pointed it directly at my head. 'What do you want with us?' Tori blurted out.<br>He grinned. 'I don't know, love. How about we reminince a little?' Tori shrunk back against the car. I recoiled instinctively and pushed Tori further back against the car.

'Yo newbie,' he called over his shoulder. The group split and a young, tall, slim guy walked up to the tall man. The young guy kept his gaze directed carefully at his shoes. The tall one handed the gun to the kid. 'Just a little loyalty test. Shoot them.' He pointed the gun directly at my head.  
>I breathed in deeply. 'Dude, please. We'll ... We'll keep our mouth shut, just let us go. Please.'<br>The kid looked up. I gasped and Tori breathed in sharply.

In front of us, holding a large, loaded gun pointed directly at my head, eyes filled with pain and pure loathing, stood Beck Oliver. Previously my best friend.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi you guys,<strong>

**I'm not too sure about this chapter, but seeing as I will be drowning in rehearsals for my play.  
>Our opening night is next Saturday, so because I think I won't have the time to update again, I wanted to give you this. <strong>

**For the record, the story WILL have a happy ending for everyone. I think. xD**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	11. Secret Tears

**Secret Tears**

**CAT'S POV**

I checked my Pearphone again. Why wasn't Tori answering me? She always answered. Even when she was 'busy' with André. I giggled. The thought of my two best friends getting at it, as Jade called it, was quite weird, but I loved it. They were so cute together, and after everything that had happened, I couldn't think of anyone else that would've deserved to be happy more than they did.

Laying back on my bed, I began to sing the first few lines of California King Bed. I don't know why, but the song had been bugging me all week; singing was my last resort. If I couldn't get it out then, I would go mad.  
>Though it had been a long day, I was quite bored. I wished I had someone to talk to right now, but Robbie and Rex were out with their Northridge girls and Jade had said she needed some time and that she'd come over when she would.<br>When I sat up again, I decided to work on the assignment Sikowitz had given us. He had partnered us again and given us a really old scene to perform.

And for another class, I had to write a song! I couldn't write songs! I pulled Jeff, my giraffe, closer and pulled him into a tight embrace. He squealed in protest and I laughed. 'Oh Jeff, that's so inappropriate!' I rolled over my bed laughing and nearly knocked my laptop onto the floor as I did. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.  
>I struggled to get it out and opened the message from André.<p>

It read only one word. 'HELP!'

* * *

><p><strong>TORI'S POV<strong>

I couldn't breathe. The world around me seemed to be crashing down. I could not believe my eyes. I could not believe the event unfolding before my eyes.  
>My thoughts were blurred, unclear, hard to follow. Time seemed to drag itself out, making seconds lasting hours.<br>I squeezed André's hand so hard it must have hurt, but he didn't flinch. He was focused on keeping me behind his back. I stared at Beck, pleading without words to lower the gun. His eyes were pained. He kept his gaze focused on André's hand in mine, and I could see his eyes grow darker with rage.  
>I bit my lip. If anyone could get Beck to lower the gun, I knew it would be me. But I was still frozen in fear and shock. 'Please, Beck, mate, don't,' I heard André plead. 'Beck, you love her. You can't shoot her. Please. Let her go.' Beck tightened his grip on the gun, as if his hands were sweaty. The tall guy sighed. 'Come on, newbie. We don't have all night. Shoot them, or we'll do it for you.' Beck's eyes shimmered with panic. 'But,' the guy added, 'we'll have to shoot you too.'<br>Beck let the air escape through his teeth. Slowly, he curled his finger around the trigger. André gasped.

I couldn't stand back anymore. I pushed André aside, stepping in front of him, now shielding him. He tugged at my arm and whispered my name, but I ignored him. Beck slightly lowered the gun in shock. 'Beck,' I whispered, 'Beck, please. Please don't. You're not that kind of guy.' Beck's eyes flikkered with hope. Then he shook his head.  
>'Why wouldn't I be?' He waved the gun at me. 'If I drop the gun because you ask me to, you will just go running back to him whenever you get the chance. Why would I listen?' I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do. I had to convince him to drop the gun. Lower the gun. To just keep it away from André.<br>'Please, Beck. I'll do anything. Anything. Just please. . . Please don't.' I slowly pulled my hand free from André's. He shivered and grabbed my wrist. 'Tori,' he whispered, but I glanced back, silencing him with one look.  
>I turned back to Beck, breathing in deeply. I focused on Beck, and only Beck, forgetting about André, the rest of the gang, even the rest of the world. Slowly, I took a few hesitant steps in his direction. His hand shook.<br>'Beck,' I said softly, 'you know what I feel for you. I never denied that. I never will. I can't.' His lower lip trembled. 'But you promised me you would never hurt me,' I said, now so close to him, the barrel of the gun was nearly touching my chest, 'And I believed you. If you shoot him, I still won't choose you.. But Beck, if you don't. . .' I took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, 'I will. I'll choose you over him. But please, let him go.' Emotions flashed through Beck's eyes as he stared at me. André was gasping for breath behind my back. I tried to ignore him, knowing exactly how much my words were hurting him. But I had to find a way to get him away. To safety.

Beck lowered the gun another few inches. 'You wouldn't,' he whispered, but hope was growing larger in his eyes. I bit my lip and reached for his free hand. I wove my fingers into his and ignored André's gasps of pain. I had to do this. 'Yeah I would. I would.' Beck stared at our hands and then at the gun in his hand. He slowly dropped the gun by his side. 'Then go. Take him out of here.' I shook my head. 'Not without you. Beck, I promised.' He stroked my cheek. 'And I promised you. And by having you choose me, I'll be hurting you. Which is exactly what I promised not to do.' I swallowed. Beck pushed me back into André's arms. He turned to the gang and pointed the gun directly at the tall guy's head. 'So you're the bastard I should be shooting.'  
>The man gave a chilling laugh. 'Like you have the balls, kid. I can't deny your little friend over there isn't absolutely delicious, but is she worth all this?' André pushed me back against the car and stepped up next to Beck. 'You bet your ass she is.' Most of the gangmembers seemed to be quite surprised by this recent turn of events. But they still saw what I did.<p>

Two teens, one of them holding a gun, the other balled fists, against a gang of sixteen men strong. We wouldn't stand a chance. I shook my head. 'Guys,' I said, 'Come on. Get in the car. Just get in. Let's go.'  
>Both of them shook their heads, almost simultaneously. 'We finish this,' André spat. 'Tonight. You were right. We can't keep running all our lives.'<br>Beck nodded, not taking his eyes off the tall guy. 'I'm with you,' he said, pointing the gun down at the guy's groin. 'How about we start there?'

The following happened too fast for my eyes, and I only knew that suddenly, a struggle broke out between the men, Beck and André pulling at the gun at one side, the tall guy and a friend on the other side.  
>Before anyone had the time to react to the struggle, the loud blast of a gunshot echoed through the street, and all three men gazed at me. André and Beck horrified, the tall guy amused. I felt numb. Why were they staring at me? I looked down at my chest and found a large bullethole in my T-shirt and jacket, where the bullet had entered my personal space. I began to feel cold as I watched a red stain bloom on the white shirt I was wearing. I didn't feel the pain until my knees gave in and hit the pavement hard.<p>

I remember hitting my head to the sidewalk. Then, there was nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I know, I know, I shot Tori, but please, don't come after me with the flaming<strong>** pitchforks!  
>I know it's a really short shuckish kind of chapter, but I don't know how long it'll take for me to umdate again, so. . . <strong>

**BTW She_Nerdist and OddPsyche: thanks! I really hope the play'll go well!  
>And all you other people - thank you so much for all the reviews!<strong>

**So, hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reading!**

**Oh, almost forgot: PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	12. Heartbeat

**Heartbeat**

**ANDRÉ'S POV**

The world seemed to drag itself to a stop, screeching to an absolute stillness in a matter of seconds. And why wouldn't it? This could not be happening. Tori Vega, the girl I loved, the girl that had turned my world upside down from the moment I laid eyes on her, could not die because of a stupid fight. After everything she had dragged herself through, one accidentally fired bullet couldn't possibly kill her. But as I watched her fall to her knees, a large red stain spreading on her chest, I could not think straight. I could not help but let out a gasp, a scream of fear, of shock. I vaguely heard Beck roar Tori's name in my ear.  
>Something pulled at my hand, snapping me right back to reality. Beck and the tall man were still wrestling over the gun that had hit Tori. Maybe even . . . Maybe even killed her.<p>

I felt rage boiling up in me, rage like I had never felt before. While Beck and the tall guy were still wrestling over the gun, I turned to the other men of the gang. Most of them were paying attention to the fight between Beck and whatever his name was, but one of them, a pimply guy that I recognized as the one that had shot me, glared at me, to Tori on the ground, and back to me, a large smile spreading on his lips.  
>That little smile did it. I flew at him, dying to let him meet both my fists for what he had done to Tori before, for what he was about to do now. I felt a sick satisfaction when I felt my fist connect with his jaw, and smiled at the crunching sound. He screamed in pain, but pushed me back immediately and started landing punches on my chest and face before I had the time to react. Ignoring the pain, I blocked his blows at my head and kicked at his legs, trying to force him to the ground.<br>Without any sort of warning, three of his mates jumped me from behind, forcing me to the ground as he started kicking me. I screamed as his foot connected with the side of my head. They continued to kick and hit me, and I bet they would've done much worse if it weren't for the sirens that seemed to be coming closer and closer.

All of them froze, the tall one holding Beck away with one arm, staring in the direction the sound was coming from. For the first time since the gunshot had shattered my world, I allowed myself to feel some kind of hope. _Thank you, Cat!_  
>'HALT!' Many voices cried from every possible direction. 'Don't move or we will shoot!' The gangmembers backed away, their hands raised in silent defeat. Beck, coughing and grimacing, crawled to where Tori lay, whispering her name. This was the first time I saw his nose was bleeding – quite badly – and his lower lip was swollen. I didn't want to think about what I would be looking like. I grimaced and winced, but followed Beck to Tori. We reached her at the same time. She was awfully pale and didn't seem to be breathing at all. I cursed and shook her shoulders carefully. 'Tori! Tori, baby, wake up. . .' Beck turned around to the police officers that had appeared out of nowhere. 'HELP!' He yelled. 'Help her! Please!' Several officers hurried towards us as the others pushed the gangmembers into a van. 'TORI! ANDRÉ!' Someone roared. I sighed in relief. Tori's dad ran towards us. 'Oh my God,' someone else yelled, 'Tori! André! Beck! Are you okay? I'm sorry it took me so long to find you!' Beck took a shaky breath and nodded. 'Whatever, Cat.' He turned back to Tori and tried to find a pulse. Cat yelped when she spotted Tori and covered her mouth in shock. Her dad stopped a few feet from us, when other cops held him back. 'Come on, you don't want to see this.'<p>

Suddenly everything seemed to go incredibly fast. Two ambulances pulled up, a grand total of four paramedics jumped out and ran to us.  
>Two of them pulled Beck and me away from Tori while the other two rushed to help her. I didn't want to leave, and judging by Beck's raised voice, neither did he. 'No, get to Tori first. She needs help.' The guy shook his head. 'They're helping her, kid. Just let me look at you; you can't help her when you're hurt, can you?' I scowled and grimaced as he poked a bruise on my stomach.<br>Suddenly loud voices seemed to emerge from the people huddled around Tori. 'She's going into cardiac arrest! Start CPR!' My heart seemed to fall down to my feet through the earth. I threw off the man's arms and tried to rush for Tori. 'Tori! No! Help her!' The guy jumped up and pushed me back, careful not to hit any bruised spots.  
>'Let them do their job, kid. You can't help them.' 'But she's . . . You have to . . . Please. . .' I begged, noticing a panicky undertone in my voice.<p>

The minutes seemed to drag on forever as I struggled the men that were now holding me back. I didn't even know I was crying until one of the men told me to man up.  
>'Yes!' One of the paramedics suddenly cried, 'We've got a sinusrithm! Let's get her to the hospital!' I dared to breathe in relief.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>BECK'S POV<strong>

I was hardly aware of what was happening. The police had interviewed me for hours. I felt like I had told the story hundreds of times, to the police, her parents, our friends.  
>Now I was sitting in the family room, waiting for Tori to get out of surgery. André was at the other side of the room, looking absolutely horrible. He had a black eye, swollen lips and nose and was pressing an icepack to his tummy. He got beaten up pretty bad. I felt really bad about what I had done. Exceedingly guilty.<br>All of this was my fault. All of it. Had I not told the gang where we hung out often, we might not have run into Tori and André. Though seeing them make out had enraged me, made me sickeningly jealous, but I knew it wasn't an excuse. And I knew Tori would never forgive me for it. That was worst.

Knowing Tori would never ever forgive me for trying to force her to choose me. If she lived. She'd been shot right below her heart, inches from her aorta.  
>It had done a lot of damage, and even though everyone was here now, in the hospital, André and I were the only ones allowed to wait in the family room. Her parents were at the desk, calling family and friends. I knew I was only allowed to be here because André had somehow managed to convince her parents, but I couldn't help but feel like I should be here. I had to make everyone see I was sorry for what I had done. What I had caused.<p>

Tori's mother walked into the room and plopped down into a seat, covering her face to hide her fear and breathing heavily. A heavy silence covered the room as if it were a thick blanket, leaving us feeling extremely uncomfortable.  
>Finally, she sat up and glanced at André, who was staring ahead of himself, lost in train of his thoughts. I felt even more horrible when I thought about what I had put him – my best friend – through, all because we had fallen for the same girl. I had already opened my mouth dozens of times, about to apologize for the bizillionth time, but I knew that wasn't what either of them needed to hear right now. It wasn't what I needed to hear. Cat walked in too, looking as if she'd cried again. Tori's mom had said Cat should be there, because she called the police in the first place.<br>Tori's mom leaned forward, looked at André and said, 'André, are you sure you don't want the doctors to look at you? What if you've got internal bleedings?' I flinched. That was another thing I didn't want to be thinking about. André had refused to let someone look at him as long as Tori was in surgery.  
>That was four hours ago, and I could tell he was in serious pain, but he still wouldn't take any medication or let anyone look at him. Even his mother, who was in New York for some business thing, but had been called, couldn't convince him.<p>

André shook his head. 'I told you. I don't want to risk missing Tori when she comes back. I'm fine anyway.' I bit my lip. 'André, mate. You're not fine. Come on, just let the nurse check you on anything she wants to. If you collapse when Tori gets back, she'll only be worried. Better you know now.' André glared at me. 'Don't 'mate' me. We stopped being mates when you tried to steal her from me. Again.' I grimaced. 'André, I'm. . .' Cat held up her hands. 'Stop it! Both of you. Tori is in surgery. She might die. And you two are bickering about whose girl she is? Shouldn't you worry about her chances of survival? A bullet in her chest is not nothing. People die of a lot less. So shut up.' Her eyes swam in tears. 'She's my best friend and now she's dying, because she chose André.' She turned to me. 'This your fault, Beck. You should even be here. If you loved Tori, you wouldn't have done it.' 'Cat,' André began, but she interrupted him. 'And you,' she spat, 'you stupid idiot. Go. Go to the nurse. Let her check you. You're not getting in this room again before she has checked you. NOW!'  
>Alarmed by her tone, André got up, grimaced and hobbled to through the open door. I stared at Cat, hurt by her words, even though I knew they were true. Tori's mom smiled sadly and rubbed Cat's back as she began to sob again.<br>I looked away and sank into some sort of trance-like state, making time pass into a blur. At some point, André came in, declared to the room in general that they had given him an all-clear and a lot of morphine, which made him kind of dizzy. After that, I don't remember much.  
>Not up to the point where a nurse came striding into the room, smiling brightly, followed by a grim-looking doctor. I recognized him as Tori's doctor. He'd treated her last time too.<p>

André jumped up, followed by Cat, Tori's parents, me, Robbie and even Jade. The last two had arrived an hour ago, worried sick, as we were.  
>'How is she?' André asked tentatively, fear coloring his words as he spoke.<br>The doctor clapped his hands together and breathed in deeply. 'We've been able to restore most of the damage and we have successfully removed the bullet,' his words were greeted with relieved cries and people jumping into each other's arms. I, however, was waiting for the 'but' that was definitely coming. 'But,' he proceeded, 'she has had several cardiac arrests on the table. The last time, we were almost unable to revive her. She's alive, but she isn't out of the danger zone just yet. If she makes it through the night, she has a chance.' I swallowed. 'But what does that mean? She's gonna be OK, right?' He swallowed uncomfortably. 'Combined with her previous injuries, it's very serious, and very dangerous. There's a chance she might make it, but honesty bids me to say, the chances are slim right now.' Gasps were audible all over the room. 'She's in a coma, which is better for her anyway, seeing as she needs to give her body the time to heal. But we don't know if she will get out of the coma.'

Cat burst into tears and fled into Robbie's arms. André sank into the nearest chair and breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself. Jade sank onto her knees next to André and stroked his cheek, trying to calm him. Tori's parents fell into each other's arms and cried. And I stood there, shocked, waiting for the world to end, waiting for the final blow.

Tori had a strong and steady heartbeat. But she might die at any point during the night. Her heart could stop again.

That's when I fell to my knees and cried.

* * *

><p><strong>Gosh, everyone thanks so much for the reviews and the support!<br>For the record, my final rehearsal was great, which is usually not a good sign. **

**On the bright side, I had a spark of inspiration and put it to use instantly, although I'm not sure how you will like it. So, just click the little 'review this chapter' button and let me know!**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	13. Upon Awakening

**OMG you guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews I got!  
>You guys are sooo amazing!<strong>

**So sorry it took me so long to update, but I had shows all weekend and I had to study for midterms.  
>(BTW, I think your good luck wishes really helped on stage xD We had two standing ovations :p)<br>Anyway, enough chitchat (or whatever the hell it is), enjoy the chapterr!**

* * *

><p><strong>Upon Awakening<strong>

**TORI'S POV**

I couldn't have told you what was going on. Or where I was, for that matter. Not even what had happened. Everything was merely blurry.  
>I tried to move my arms, but they were so heavy I couldn't possibly lift them. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was most definitely not in the alley anymore. So where was I?<p>

Maybe I had died. If this was heaven, I preferred life and earth, fucked up though it might be. Sinking deeper into my thoughts, I blacked out again.

When I woke again, I was aware of voices around me. Familiar voices. André. Beck.  
>I wanted to call out to them, but it seemed as if my body would not or could not cooperate. All I could do was listen to their voices.<br>'. . . Should have stayed well away,' André's voice said. 'I couldn't,' Beck replied, 'You know I couldn't.' It seemed to me like they were arguing. Why would they be arguing?  
>'Well, if you loved her, as you said you did, you would have. Just let her go.' André's voice seemed emotional, as if he were about to cry. I wanted to frown, were it not that my body still wasn't doing as it should. <em>Who are they talking about? <em>'Could you?' Beck demanded. 'Could you just let her go like it's nothing?'

André sighed, and his voice suddenly seemed closer. 'I don't know, Beck. But I know that I would not have betrayed her like that. You promised never to hurt her.' His voice seemed thick, as if he was crying. I tried so hard to remember anything, anything that might explain what they were talking about. _Were they both in love with the same girl? But then, who would it be? _Beck's voice pulled me from my thoughts. 'I know. I have told you how sorry I am a million times already. How many more times do you want to hear it?' I could almost feel André smirk as he answered, 'Until she is all back.' Beck's voice was soft as he said, 'I can't help but loving her, André. I think I will do so forever.'  
>André sighed. 'I know, Beck.' I suddenly felt a hand on mine, fingers weaving into mine. 'Tori Vega,' He whispered, 'I wonder what the hell it is about you that draws us to you.' Beck's voice came closer on the other side of my head. 'I love you, Tori,' he whispered. André moved his fingers through my hair. I think. 'I love you, Tori,' He whispered. With a realization that hit me like a hammer, I thought, '<em>Oh God. They're talking about me. And I don't remember why. Oh God. Which one of them did I choose?' <em>Pondering that thought, I felt my mind get drowsier.  
>Slowly, everything seemed to go darker and darker, until all blacked out.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>ANDRÉ'S POV<strong>

Two weeks. Tori had been in this comatose state for two whole weeks already. None of us could now pretend we weren't worried about how she'd get out of this. Sometimes, when I sat by her bed, holding her hand, I could've sworn I felt her fingers move, pressing against mine. But when I called a nurse or a doctor, it would always turn out to be a false alarm.

Trina and her new boyfriend, Erik, had returned from their trip to Las Vegas as soon as they'd been told what had happened, Trina absolutely freaked out and terrified. Knowing Trina for the better part of two years already, I had never seen her care about anyone but herself before, but now, she outdid herself. She was around all the time, annoying the crap out of me, blaming everyone for what had happened. Everyone but Beck. For some reason, she took pity on him, though I can't possibly imagine why. Though I still wasn't all too fond of her, I did know Trina genuinely worried about Tori's wellbeing. I knew she was scared to death that something would happen to Tori. The only annoying thing about that was that she seemed to forget all of us were. We had all agreed on some sort of rotation. Each one of us, meaning me, Trina, Cat, Tori's parents and Beck stayed with Tori for the night. Each night, someone else would, so there would always be someone familiar with her.  
>Last time she was in the hospital, none of us had had the opportunity to do a thing like this, but seeing as we had spring break at school, we weren't exactly doing much.<p>

Tori's parents seemed to have lost all faith in Beck's honorable intentions. They only allowed him to stay because I was the only one to believe him.  
>Today it was my turn to spend the night in the hospital, in an armchair next to Tori's bed. She had a heart monitor still attached, and though the beeping annoyed me greatly, it was comforting to know that if something were to happen, at least I'd hear it instantly.<br>On nights like this, I brought my guitar along, singing all sorts of things to Tori, knowing that she'd hear it, even though I couldn't see her reaction.  
>I forgot my guitar in my truck, and now that I was here, I didn't want to miss a second of it. Often, it was all the time I got with her, seeing as I had to babysit my little sister during the day.<p>

'Hi Tori,' I whispered while brushing my lips past her cheek. 'How you doing today, baby? The nurse said you were calm all day. Maybe that means you're waking up. I hope you are. I can't miss you much longer.' I leaned back and sat down in the chair. 'You know, Cat is totally freaking out without you at Hollywood Arts. It's kind of boring without you anyway.' I must've looked insane, talking to a girl who probably didn't hear me, but it was comforting to think that she might.  
>I talked for hours and smiled at the nice nurse who came to give me a cup of crappy coffee.<br>Time flew by when I was with Tori, even though she was unconscious. When I next checked the clock, it was 11.30 PM already. I pushed the chair up to Tori's bed and settled down in it. I reached for Tori's hand and squeezed it softly. 'Please wake up, Tori,' I whispered and pressed a kiss on her hand.  
>I couldn't help but hope for some kind of reaction, but when nothing happened, disappointment seemed to settle itself permanently in the pit of my stomach. It felt like defeat. I snuggled deeper into the chair, pulled a blanket over my shoulders.<br>I fell asleep almost instantly, holding Tori's hand tightly.

* * *

><p><strong>FOUR AM<br>TORI'S POV**

I could feel a change. My body didn't feel as heavy as it had done before. My fingers were movable, though André's hand immobilized my one hand. I tried blinking, surprised that I could actually manage to blink.  
>I breathed in deeply and tried to get myself to open my eyes. For some reason, it was harder than I had anticipated. I couldn't open my eyes. It was like they were glued shut. I heard some annoying beeping sound. Only then did I feel some kind of pressure on my chest, like that once I had had pneumonia. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to open them again.<p>

It felt like I was ripping my eyelids clean off. I wouldn't have been surprised if blood would've been running down my cheeks. I blinked again, and slowly my surroundings became clearer. I didn't recognize the room I was in, but I knew it was a hospital room. I turned my head to my right, finding André sitting right there, fingers entwined with mine, leaning his head back against the back of the chair, eyes closed. He snored softly.  
>He looked absolutely adorable. I frowned and opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't produce any other sound than a hoarse croak. I tried again, but it just wouldn't work. SLowly, I managed to move my fingers and squeezed André's hand. 'André,' I croaked, 'André. . .'<p>

He blinked lazily, shooting up when he saw my eyes were open. 'Oh God, Tori.' He jumped up and stroked my hair from my face. 'You're awake,' he smiled, relieved, 'you're awake. I can't believe you're awake.'  
>I pointed at my throat. 'Water. Please.' He nodded. 'Yeah, of course,' he said, 'I'll get a nurse too. Call your parents. Trina.' He hurried out of my room.<br>A minute or two later, he hurried in again, followed by a nurse with curly blonde hair. The way she looked at André, I could tell she fancied him. Instantly, I felt some sort of weird feeling in my chest. Something I had only felt once before. Too bad there wasn't a cheese fountain now.  
>She bent over me as André hopped up and down at the other side of my bed. 'Now, now dear,' she said to me, 'calm down and let me look at you.' I hadn't realized I had been struggling her grip. I relaxed.<br>She examined me and smiled all the time, told me and André she was going to get a doctor to look at me properly.

When André opened his mouth to say something, my parents and Trina barged into the room, exhilirated. They all hugged me, pushing André back. I could see the pain in his eyes when my sister roughly pushed him away from the bed.  
>Everything went extremely fast, so fast I could hardly keep up with it. My mom and dad left the room again as quickly as they had come, so only André and my sister remained. I was confused.<br>André smiled weakly when Trina finally walked back. 'Hey Tor,' he said. 'Welcome back baby.' I frowned. 'Did you just call me baby?' He grinned sheepishly. 'I guess I did.'  
>Trina scowled. 'Ew, you guys, don't be cheesy.' I frowned again. 'What are you talking about? I'm not cheesy. Why would we be cheesy?' André frowned. 'Tori, what do you mean?' Trina raised her eyebrow.<br>'I mean, why would you be cheesy? It's not like we. . . Right?' André paled and Trina looked awkward. 'Right?' I said. André bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair in a very uncharacteristical move.

'You know what, it just doesn't matter. It's fine. Don't worry. I'll . . . I'll go call Cat. Robbie. Beck.' He made for the door. The last name did ring a bell. 'Wait. Beck. I heard you.' Trina stared at me. 'Which one of you did I choose?' André groaned. 'Tori, God. I'm sorry, I just . . . Can't.' He hurried out of the room.

Trina sighed. 'That wasn't all too sensitive, Tori.' I frowned. 'But I don't remember.' Trina shrugged. 'You still shouldn't have done that.'  
>She made for the door as well as a tall woman in a white jacket entered the room. 'Trina!' I called after her. She turned around. 'Which one? Who?'<br>She sighed, glanced into the hall and turned back to me. 'André, Tori. Always André. And just that was the problem.'

* * *

><p><strong>Hellooo guys,<strong>

**So I know this isn't my best chapter yet, but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	14. Happy Birthday

**Happy Birthday**

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

**ANDRÉ'S POV**

Weeks passed slowly, causing Tori to get more and more bored every day. She hated the hospital. Couldn't blame her either.  
>Everyone fussing over her all the time, me being one of those people, I should admit.<br>She would be discharged in a week, but she wouldn't be allowed to go back to school for another two and a half weeks.

And do you know what was worst? She still didn't remember. Nothing at all.  
>The last memory she had was that of Keenan's party, almost a year ago. She lost an entire year of her life, the year in which I had finally plucked up the courage to kiss her and tell her I loved her. She loved me too. And know she didn't remember.<br>You'd get depressed for a lot less than that. Maybe I'm overreacting. Or maybe I'm just really selfish. Tori knew she loved me. She knew she'd picked me over Beck.  
>She couldn't remember, but that didn't mean she didn't feel it anymore. She was still in love with me, but she just couldn't remember the thing itself. Our relationship in general.<p>

And that stung. It really stung.

I hoped today would be different. It was her eighteenth birthday.  
>The one thing she'd been looking forward for months. I'd promised her I would make it her best birthday ever. I still would. She'd just have to spend it in the hospital.<br>I grinned as I got in my car to get her flowers and a present. She'd scowl over that one.  
>She had specifically told me not to celebrate. But it was her eighteenth birthday. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let it pass without anything special?<p>

So I went to get her flowers – can you believe the lady tried to sell me bush daisies for roses? – got Tori her favorite kind of chocolate and went to the juwellery store to pick her a present. Everyone who knows Tori knows she isn't all too fond of showy kind of juwellery, so I was kind of doubtful about what to get her.  
>It had to be special. Not just anything. Something that she would love to wear, and not just because I had given it to her. Something she would really, really like if she'd seen it in the store itself.<p>

So that's really how I found myself in one of those incredibly, ridiculously chic juwellery stores, filled with nervous dudes trying to pick an engagement ring for their girl, pompous ladies with furry coats and loaded with juwellery and young girls, staring inside longingly through the window.  
>Not feeling thoroughly at ease, I gazed around for a bit, trying to decide what I should get her. A necklace? Nah, Tori didn't really like necklaces. A bracelet then. But, as I thought, there were no bracelets in the glass counters that really hit me, you know, like they were screaming at me, begging me to buy them.<br>I couldn't just get her earrings. Wouldn't be special enough. Had I mentioned before that Tori's eighteenth birthday was extra special because we had first kissed on this day, exactly five months ago?

So, feeling extremely uncomfortable now, I headed over to the display with rings. I honestly didn't know what else to get her that she'd like to wear.  
>I had to push and use my elbows quite a few times to get to the display, seeing as it was surrounded by anxious young guys, but I managed to get there eventually.<br>A young lady behind the counter eyed me warily. 'Engagement ring, sir?' she asked in a monotone voice, as if she'd said it a thousand times already. I glanced over my shoulder. She probably had.

I smiled and shook my head. 'No, I'm here to get my girlfriend an eighteenth birthday present. It's kind of also our five-month-a-versery, so I really wanted to get her something special. The corner of her mouth twitched and she actually managed a grin. 'Are you sure you aren't looking for Tiffany's? It's just down the hall.' She could barely hide her smirk. I had to keep myself from hitting her.  
><em>Come on now, André, <em>I thought to myself, _It's not nice to hit ladies. _I breathed in and produced a smile. 'Yeah, quite sure. She isn't really the Tiffany's kind of girl.' At this, the woman actually laughed. 'Every girl is a Tiffany's girl. Even if she is trying to fool herself into believing she isn't.' I bit my lip and tried to keep a cool head. 'Are you going to help me find something or not? Otherwise, I could just try the other store across the hall.' Her face clouded for a second, and then she smiled so widely, she actually started to scare me.

'Well then, young man,' she started in a semi-happy voice, 'do you see anything that you like?' Was I imagining it or was she flirting? With me? _What the hell? Just a moment ago she tried to kick me out. Ugh, now I'm confused. _I pretended to gaze at the display, but she was blocking it in such a way that whichever way I looked, she was constantly in my sight. I sighed and straightened up. 'Could you move, please? I can't see any of the rings.' She pouted and moved aside. As I gazed into the display, there was one ring that drew my attention instantly. It was small, silver and a tiny little gemstone was imbedded in the middle. The stone was deep purple. I loved it the moment I laid eyes on it, and I could tell Tori would love it too. From the stone in the middle, it seemed tiny little wave lines had been draw around the tiny silver circle.

I pointed at it. 'I'd like to see that one.' She nodded, keeping her comments to herself and removed it from the display. I bent over again to look at it closely. 'What kind of stone is that?' I asked, glancing up at the lady. She smiled suggestively. 'Sugilite. It's one of the most important love stones. It is said to represent spiritual love and wisdom.' She smiled again. 'If you buy this for your girlfriend, I bet you like her a lot.' I smiled and pictured Tori. 'Yeah, I do,' I replied. She smiled again, a little disappointedly. 'Do you want to hear more about the stone?' I shrugged. 'Yeah, sure.' She grinned and gestured at the stone while she spoke. 'The stone is said to teach and protect the carrier in matters of spiritual quests, love and forgiveness. It also protects the soul from shocks and trauma –,' I smirked. _Perfect. _'Clears disappointments and relieves the spiritual tension, brings love and light into the darkest situations of your relationship and helps you forgive by eliminating hostility.' She smiled. 'Sounds good, doesn't it?' I smiled and nodded. 'Oh,' she added, 'and if you hold it to your forehead, it'll relieve your headaches.'  
>I nodded. 'I think I found what I was looking for.' She nodded and picked up the ring. 'Follow me,' she said, heading for the register. Only then did I figure out I hadn't asked about the price. <em>Oh boy, <em>I thought while following her, _This is going to hurt my wallet. _

* * *

><p>I arrived at the hospital at 10 AM, when Tori was having her chest Xray. Beck, Cat, Robbie and Jade were already there, ready to decorate the room.<br>I tried not to think about letting Beck and Jade alone in one room for too long. Cat was bouncy, even though the hospital staff had made her take off the Jupiter boots.  
>André!' She yelled through the corridor as I came in. She jumped up and down. 'You're here!'<br>I grinned. 'Yo, little red! You ready to get Tori a great B-day?' She nodded before her face clouded. 'Come on,' she said, pointing to the room, 'we have to get inside, because I think Jade wants to hit Beck with something when she finds something that's heavy enough.' I nodded. 'Yeah, probably a good idea.' I followed her inside, nodded at Beck, hugged Jade and shook hands with Robbie, who had, incidentally, left Rex home. Again. I was too caught up in my own little world to really wonder about that. I think Cat kind of made him do it.

We hung the garlands up fast, none of us really saying much but, 'pass me the pins,' or 'stick it somewhere else.' In no time, the room looked absolutely amazing, colorful garlands everywhere, flowers on the windowsils and the bedside tables, her favorite purple sheets on the dumb hospital bed, a table loaded with presents, and us, her friends.

I looked around, arms crossed and smiled. 'I guess we're done.' Cat clapped her hands and jumped up and down. 'Yay! Now where is Tori?' Jade crossed her arms to her chest and leaned back against the wall.  
>'She's in Radiology, Cat. Do I have to be here?' I looked at her and grinned when she pouted. 'Jade. Be nice.' I heard Beck laugh in the corner, where he was piling up Tori's presents. Cat grinned too and Robbie, standing by the door, broke our perfect soap bubble by yelling, 'She's coming! Quick! Hide!'<br>Everyone hid, Cat and Robbie behind the door, Beck under the table, Jade behind the closet, leaving me to crouch behind the bed.  
>Tension was almost touchable as we listened and waited for Tori to enter.<p>

Finally, I heard her voice drift through the door. 'So do you think mom and dad will-' she was cut short when we all jumped up and screamed 'SURPRISE!'  
>A huge grin appeared on Tori's face as she yelled, 'You guys! I told you not to!' All of us rushed over to her to hug her. When I leaned back, her grin was so huge I thought her face might actually crack in two.<br>'Gosh, you guys. I thought I told you not to celebrate.' Even Jade smiled. 'It's your eighteenth birthday, Vega,' she grinned, 'did you really think you'd get off the hook that easily?' She smiled and got up from the wheelchair.  
>'So,' she said, 'Let's celebrate!'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>8.30 PM - Tori's room<strong>

The room looked horrifying. Gift wrappers covered the floor, Tori's presents were everywhere, the television was on MTV, playing some stupid rap song. Tori was sitting crosslegged on her bed, the smile still etched on her face, playing with Cat's present, a small friendship bracelet that spelled 'CaT & ToRi'.  
>I sat in the armchair, my feet on her bed, playing with the little box with her ring in it. I'd waited to give it to her deliberately, because it was just too personal and too . . . Too. . . Too soon, maybe. But I just really wanted to give it to her. I wanted her to know that I would love her, even if she didn't remember.<p>

She looked up, gazing at me from under her lashes. I looked up at her, my breath catching in my throat at how beautiful she was. Her hair was thick and shiny, her eyes sparkled and her cheeks werer rose.  
>She smiled. 'Thank you, André,' she said, leaning forward to pat my leg, 'I know it was mostly your idea.' I tried not to blush and smiled too. 'No prob, Tor. That's what best friends are for.'<br>Her expression clouded. 'I know you want to be more than just that.' I bit my lip. 'No. I can live with being nothing more than your best friend.' She shook her head. 'But I can't. I know, and now that I do, how can I possibly pretend there is nothing between us?' I sat up and leaned closer to her. 'I told you. There doesn't have to be anything.' She looked at her hands and remained silent.

After a short moment, I glanced at the box in my hands. 'I've got one last present for you, if you want it.' She looked at me and smiled. 'Of course.' I sat down next to her. 'It's kind of . . . It's a present I would've given you if we'd still. . . Still date.' She pouted. 'Give it to me anyway.'  
>Still feeling uite hesitant, I stretched out my hand towards her, the little black box on my palm. She snatched it up and opened the box quickly. She gasped as she saw the ring and dropped the lid of the box.<p>

'Oh. My. God. André.' I grinned sheepishly and scratched my head. 'Do you like it? I mean, I can get you something else if you-' I never got to finish my sentence.  
>Before my mind had fully wrapped itself around what was happening, Tori had thrown herself at me, crushing her lips on mine. I was confused.<p>

Very confused.

But I loved the feel of her lips on mine too much to push her back now. She snaked her fingers through my dreads, slowly pushing me down on the bed. Straddling me, she ran her hands over my abs, moaned softly when I bit her lip. Only when she slipped her hands under my shirt did I think about where we were.  
>I hated that I had noted the fact we were taking this a little bit too far.<br>Slowly, I pushed her up. 'Tori,' I whispered, 'Stop. You shouldn't.' She ran her hand through her hair. 'But I want to. I really want to. I think I was already in love with you.' She swooped down again to press her lips on mine. When she leaned back for breathing purposes, she smiled.  
>'And,' she grinned, 'you are an awesome kisser.' When I smiled, she frowned. 'Wait. How long were we dating?' I frowned. 'About five months.' Her mouth fell open. 'You mean I can't remember our 100-day-kiss?' I smiled.<br>'I can always show you a sneak peak?' She smiled and leaned down to kiss me.

When she leaned back, panting, she grinned. 'Woah.' I grinned. She pressed her lips on mine again, soft and short. When she leaned back, she wispered, 'I love you, André Harris. Even if I don't remember. I love you.'

* * *

><p><strong>I know they are going fast, but really, that's kind of the point xD<br>Tell me what you think!**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	15. Me Myself And You

**Me, Myself And You**

**ANDRÉ'S POV**

I blinked lazily, temporarily confused at my surroundings. But as I looked down at the girl that lay in my arms, everything came flowing back to me.  
>Tori had thrown the covers over my legs and snuggled really close into my embrace. She was already awake and looked up at me with her large, irresistible chocolate brown eyes. 'Good morning,' she said and leaned up to press her lips on mine.<br>As we broke apart for air, I frowned. 'What time is it?' She glanced over my shoulder at the clock. 'Eight thirty.'  
>I sat up and threw the covers back. 'When do your parents usually come to visit?' Tori bit her lip and smiled. 'Around nine.'<p>

She put her hands on my chest and pushed me back onto the pillows. 'So we have another half hour.' I frowned. 'May I inquire as to what we will be doing?' She smiled suggestively and grinned at my shocked expression. 'I just wanted to ask you some things. About before. I want to remember.' I sat up and arranged Tori on my lap so she was facing me. 'It wasn't all good, Tor.' She stroked my cheek softly. 'You know, I kind of figured. Seeing as I'm in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest.' I sighed. 'So what do you want to know?' She bit her lip and gazed around, trying to decide what to ask first. 'Did we. . . I mean. . Were you my . . .?' She bit her lip again and blushed lightly. I sighed, slid my arms around her waist and pulled her closer. 'Yes and . . . Yes. I think. I was the first you wanted anyway. If you don't count the . . . Which we won't. That's what you told me.' She looked up, still blushing vigorously and snuggled deeper into my embrace. 'Was I any good?' I laughed and said, 'Tori!' reproachfully. She grinned. 'Just kidding.' She laid down her head on my chest.

'Why weren't things perfect?' she whispered. 'Why wasn't it all good?' I swallowed. 'Because, Tori. Maybe it's good you don't remember. It made you really unhappy.' She sat up again and looked at me. 'But I need to remember, André. Don't you get that? If I want to remember us, then I need to remember the bad things too.' I gazed ahead. 'Beck loves you too. He'd do anything to make you feel the same way about him. He almost did.' She frowned. 'Beck? But he and Jade. . .' I shook my head. 'Why do you think they've been acting so weird around you? He broke up with her. In front of you and me. Then he told me and Jade he was in love with you. He forced you to choose.' She blinked and I saw her eyes were all teared up. 'Who did I choose?' 'Me, Tori. You always did. But you'd kissed him. Several times. At your place. At school. Even in front of me, even though I thought it was just a stage kiss. I needed time to think it all through. So I broke up with you.' A tear ran down her cheek. 'André, I can't believe I did that. I'm sorry.' I smiled. 'I know, baby. I know. We made up, don't worry.'

She pressed her lips on mine softly and caressed my face. 'I'll always choose you, André. Please, whatever I do, don't ever forget that.' I shook my head. 'I know. I know.'  
>She frowned yet again and looked down at me. 'But then how did I get shot?'<br>I bit my lip and looked away. 'Tori. . . I can't. This is one thing I don't want you to remember. Trust me; you really don't want to.' 'But-' she began, but I pressed my lips on hers to keep her quiet. When I leaned back, she pouted. 'I want to know, André.' I nodded. 'I know, Tori. But this isn't my part of the story to tell.' She pouted again, but nodded. Neither of us spoke for at least ten minutes. Ten blissful minutes in which Tori just lay in my arms, enjoying the fact we could just be together.

A few minutes before nine, I realized something and grinned. Tori looked up at me. 'What's funny?' I smiled down at her. 'Your mom will kill me if she sees us like this. She'll bring me back from the dead and kill me again if she finds out we slept in the same bed.' Tori grinned and sat up. 'It's not like we did anything.' I smiled. 'Last time, she did catch us, so I can't blame her for being suspicious.' Tori looked scandalized. 'Caught us doing what?' I groaned and laughed. 'God, Tori, what do you think we were doing?' She gasped. 'Oh my God. She didn't.' I shrugged and smiled. She jumped up. 'She did?' I grinned and wiped a string of hair from her face. 'She got over it.'  
>I got off the bed and snatched my hoodie off the floor. 'I think you better tell them anyway,' I started, 'because I'm pretty sure they'll kill me if I do.' Tori grinned and ran a hand through her hair as she sat down on the bed. 'Maybe I shouldn't tell them. If they really wouldn't want us to be together. . .' I shook my head and let her pull my closer by hand. 'We tried that before,' I said, 'didn't work out.' She bit her lip. 'I want to tell them. But I'm just a bit scared of what they'll say.' I stroked her face. 'If really matters to you that much, we can keep it to ourselves. For now.' She shook her head. 'No. Wouldn't be fair to you. I love you. That's nothing to be ashamed of.' I couldn't help but smile at her words. 'I love you too, Tori Vega.' She smiled brightly and looked down at her left hand. The silver ring shone on her finger. She leaned up and pressed her soft lips on mine.<p>

Unfortunately our kiss was rudely interupted by an all too giggly nurse, who reminded me just a little bit too much of Cat. When she was done taking Tori's temperature and checking her ops, she left the room, still giggling stupidly. I raised my eyebrows at her back. Tori grinned at my expression.  
>I checked the clock again. Ten past nine.<br>I leaned over her, pressing my lips on hers in one last kiss. 'Gotta go,' I whispered, 'School's calling. I have to get to our friends, tell them you will be back next week.' She smiled and pulled me closer by my shirt for another kiss. I pulled back for air, groaning painfully. 'Tori,' I whined, 'I have to go.' She grinned. 'Come on, just one more kiss.' Unable to resist her puppy eyes, I leaned closer and once again forgot to breathe when her lips touched mine.

Finally, we broke apart, and I took great pride in seeing that Tori's lips were swollen a little bit. 'OK,' I said, glancing at my watch, 'Now I really have to go. Sikowitz won't thank me for being late.' Tori smiled.  
>'Ok? Be back in time.' I nodded. 'Promise. See you tonight, baby,' I said, pressing a kiss on Tori's lips and waving as I left the room.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>BECK'S POV<strong>

Tori's party had been fun, and I had loved it to see her smile again. Even though the smile was mostly directed at André.  
>I hated the fact that I knew that right now, they'd probably be making out. In a friggin' hospital!<p>

It hurt even more when I thought about the fact that my best friend's girlfriend was the girl I was in love with. At least, I thought I was.  
>What could possibly make me doubt my feelings? Well honestly, Jade did. I hadn't talked to her in weeks, nor had I seen her and the shock of seeing her tonight had been. . . weird. Instead of feeling awkward, for the first time, I felt at ease; comfortable. But that was insane.<br>I mean, how weird would it be if I broke up with Jade, because I was in love with Tori, then fell for Jade again, told Tori and Jade and not get either of them?

I felt like a fucking madman. I probably was a fucking madman.  
>I didn't know what I felt. I didn't get it. I was insane. Maybe I was the one to be in an asylum.<p>

I looked around my RV, concluding only that it was a mess. My clothes were everywhere, empty cartons and wrappers littered the floor and . . . And I really needed to clean up my mess. I sat up and rested my head in my hands. 'You made quite the mess, Beck Oliver,' a familiar voice behind me said.  
>I turned around to find Cat stand in my RV, right behind me. I sighed. 'Hi Cat. What are you doing here?' She crossed her arms and smiled at me. 'I'm here to help you make things right. You screwed up, but you're my friend. I'm helping you.'<p>

I fell on my back and closed my eyes in desperation. 'What am I supposed to do, Cat? I feel like mad. I love Tori, but Jade just. . . I don't know who I love more. I don't know what I should do.' Cat nudged my leg and I moved aside. When I opened my eyes, I saw her looking down at me warily. It looked so un-Cat-ish. 'What?' I sighed when she continued to gaze at me. She smiled sadly. 'I hate it when you are sad, Beck. You're my best friend. One of them at least. You should talk to Tori.' I had just taken a swig of my water bottle when she said that, and nearly chocked on it. 'What?' I choked. 'Talk to Tori? Why. . Why would I do that?' SHe jumped up and paced around, careful not to step on anything. 'Because Beck. If you ever want to figure out what you really feel for her, you have to. And she needs to know your side of the story too.' I bit my lip.  
>'I'm not sure if she wants to hear my side of the story.' Cat smiled. 'I know she does. So just go see her.' I scowled. 'Do I have to?'<p>

Cat grinned and said, 'Yes Beck, you do. She'll be alone all day today. I'll make up an excuse for you at school. Go.'

So that's basically how I found myself in the hospital hallway, holding a single red rose. Chewing my lip, dreading my upcoming conversation with Tori, I headed for her room. I stopped in front of her door and breathed in deeply. _I can do this. She's not going to rip my head off. She doesn't remember._  
>Still feeling like an idiot for even considering this, I pushed the door open. 'Tori, hi, I . . .' I stopped dead in my tracks. Tori sat crosslegged on her bed. There was nothing wrong with that scene. The thing that didn't add up was just who was sitting on the bed to face her.<br>Jade West. My ex-girlfriend.

Honestly, there was only one word that sprang to mind.

SHIT!

* * *

><p><strong>Hiiiii!<strong>

**It's almost Halloween! I'm so pumped for this year!  
>Anyway, hope you like the chapter!<strong>

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	16. Lust Or Love

**Love Or Lust?**

**TORI'S POV**

Beck stopped dead in his tracks and stared at us. And who could blame him, really? It must've looked weird, me and Jade sitting on my bed, talking as if we were suddenly BFF's. Jade and I exchanged a quick glance.  
>Beck couldn't possibly know what we had been talking about. Which would explain his slightly greenish color.<p>

I jumped from the bed. 'Beck. Hi. Come in.' He eyed me carefully before following me inside. Jade got up from my bed, picked up her bag and said, 'I think I'll leave you two to it.' I turned around and nodded. 'See you later?' I asked. Jade bit her lip and nodded. 'Sure Tori.' She smiled at Beck as she walked outside.

Beck stared after her for a moment. 'So,' he said while turning back to me, 'why were you talking to Jade?' I bit my lip. 'That's really none of your business, Beck. Between me and her.' He nodded, staring at his shoes. 'Fair enough.'  
>I walked back and sat on my bed. 'So, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at school?' He ran a hand through his hair. 'You know, Tori, I actually came here to talk to you. I need to figure out what this is. . . The thing I feel for you.' I bit my lip.<br>'Beck, I . . . I'm sorry, but I . . . André. . .' He shook his head. 'No, Tori, stop. I know. I'm not stupid. I know you love him, not me. That's why I'm here. If I figure out what it is. . . Maybe I can get over it.'  
>I gestured at the empty space on my bed next to me and smiled. He sat down, smiling shyly and handed me the rose he'd been playing with. I prepared for what I was about to say. I knew it'd hurt him. But I knew it was what he needed to hear.<p>

'You know, Beck, I don't think you ever really loved me. I think you just needed to know what it felt like to be with someone else than Jade. You were her first, she was yours, but it gets old. So, maybe me coming along was a good distraction. But I honestly don't think there was ever real love between us.' Beck stared at me. Maybe there wasn't,' he softly replied, 'but what was it then?' I shook my head. 'Lust? Physical attraction? I don't know Beck. But I know it's gone. It is for me anyway. I'm sorry.'

He got up and paced around. 'But then what, Tori? It all ends well for you, doesn't it? You get André in the end, which is all you've ever wanted, isn't it? But where does that leave me? I dumped Jade for you. I've done things I can never take back.' For some reason, his voice broke there. 'Beck,' I started, but he shook his head. 'No. Never mind. Tori, I'm sorry. For everything that I've done to you. To André. Even if you don't remember. I need you to know I'm sorry.'

I got frustrated. First André refusing to tell me, and now Beck? 'Beck, tell me. What did you do? Why am I here?' He frowned. 'Because you got shot, Tori.' I groaned in frustration and jumped up. 'I know that; but nobody seems to be willing to tell me how the hell I got shot in the first place. I know you were there, and so was André. But he doesn't want to tell me. He says it's not his part of the story to tell. What does he mean, Beck? Why should I ask you?' Beck bit his lip and ran his hands through his hair. 'Shit, Tori. How the hell am I supposed to tell you that? I was really messed up that night; that month for what it's worth. I don't know what to tell you.'

I threw the rose on the bed. 'Start with how I got shot.' He looked so depressed for a moment that I actually felt sorry for pushing him so much, but when he started talking, his voice was quite steady. 'You told me you hated me. It was like . . . Like you'd just ripped my heart out and jumped on it, just for the fun of it.' I sank onto the bed.  
>'I went . . . I had a hard time. I spent a lot of time on the street, because those guys seemed to understand there was shit in my life that I wanted to forget about.'<p>

I bit my lip and stared at Beck. He hadn't moved since he'd started talking, and he seemed to be lost in his train of thoughts.

'I met this gang, and they offered me a spot in their ranks, as they called it. I accepted. They, um, seemed to know all about me. Asked me where I hung out often, so I told them, not thinking too much of it.' The story had me in its grip. When I heard Beck recite it like that, it seemed like an episode of some lame soap. 'Then, one night, we hung out near a Chinese restaurant. You and André passed us, but you were too . . . busy, to notice us.' He sounded bitter for a moment. I wondered what I had been doing, then remembered André's expression this morning and thought up the answer myself. No wonder Beck was hurt. 'They advanced on you. Threatened you and André. Then they told me to shoot you. Loyalty test.' I gasped. 'You shot me? You, of all people, you?' He shook his head, snapped out of his thoughts by the shrill note to my voice.

'No. No, Tori, I never did. You didn't let me finish.' I breathed in and studied his expression. 'Okay. Go on.' He sank into the chair next to my bed and seemed to think for a moment, as if considering what to say next.

'So, I took the gun,' he continued after a short silence. 'I don't think I ever realized how much André loved you. Or how much you loved him for that matter. He begged me to let you go. I would've shot him anyway. Every angry, resentful thought I had had, I had blamed on André. I almost believed it. And then you stepped in front of him.' He looked up at me. 'You, Tori. How could I shoot you? Say whatever you like, but I loved you. And then you begged me to let André go. Just take you and let him go. Only then did I realize you'd literally do anything for him.' I bit my lip, trying to hold back the hot tears in my eyes. 'And I knew that if I'd take that deal, I'd hurt you.' He leaned forward. 'And I promised, I swore never to hurt you. So I pushed you back to André, and aimed for the leader of the gang. Would've shot him too, if it hadn't been for your attempts to get us all out safely.' Despite my best efforts, I couldn't hold back a dry sob and a tear to roll down my cheek.

'A struggle happened. André, the gang guy and I were fighting over the gun. . .' He closed his eyes. 'And then it went off. It hit you. And it was like my world stopped turning. I couldn't believe it.' I realized I was seriously crying now. 'So there you go,' he said, his voice thick, 'That's how you got here. I bet you never want to see me again. I'd even understand.' He got up. 'I just wanted you to know I'm sorry, Tori.' He turned around, and before I knew why I was doing what I was doing, I grabbed his wrist and held him back. 'Beck, don't. Don't make my choices for me. I don't hate you. You can't just assume that I will so you can pity yourself. I can't forgive you for something I don't remember, but I can tell you that I'd never hate you. You're my friend.'

He tried to wipe away the tears from his eyes unnoticed. 'Hey, I saw that, big guy.' Beck grinned, but his smile faded a little bit too soon to actually convince me of his okay-ness. 'Hey, do you really want to know what Jade and I were talking about?' He looked up; his eyes large in surprise. 'Yeah. I'd love to know.'  
>I patted the bed next to me. He sat down and eyed me curiously. 'So tell me.' I bit my lip and sat cross-legged on my bed, facing him. 'Honestly? We were talking about you.' Beck frowned. 'Me?' I bit my lip. 'Okay, you didn't get this from me. I'll kill you if you tell her I told you.' He nodded. I breathed in deeply.<p>

'She wants you back, Beck.'

* * *

><p><strong>Hii peeps!<strong>

**How ya doin'? So, I know this is a really stupid, lame, Bori chapter but it needed to be written to explain the events in the next few chapters. **

**So, for the next chapter, I'll give you a few things to look forward to: we have a nice Bade conversation, some more Tandré action, a few unexpected turns of events, etc . . .  
>Quite the chapter, don't you think? <strong>

**So, I'll leave it at that, got a lot to write xD **

**Thanks for reading the chapter and this ridiculously long author's note and please Review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	17. Song 2 You

**Disclaimer: (I realized I never did this before) I do not own Victorious, because if I did, seriously, why would I be writing shit on FF? I'd be writing shit for them to screen :))**

**She_Nerdist: I know, it was a pretty lame chapter, but I'm glad you liked it xD**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Song 2 You<strong>

**TORI'S POV**

André smiled at me as he set down his bag on the chair next to my bed. I got up from the chair by the window and smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist. 'So,' he said, 'How was your day?' I smiled, kissed him softly and smirked at his expression. 'Beck came to see me today. So did Jade.' He groaned. 'That would explain why you felt the need to kiss me first.' I slapped his arm. 'Knock it off. You're my boyfriend. I'm allowed to kiss you if I want to.' André smiled and leaned closer to press his lips on mine again. Finally, he pulled back to breathe, the grin still gracing his lips. 'I am not protesting.'

I wrestled my way out of his arms and turned back to the window. 'Don't you want to know what Beck came here for?' André stepped up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder. 'Only if you want to tell me.'  
>I bit my lip. 'Sure. I'll tell you.'<p>

* * *

><p><em>Beck bit his lip and examined my expression. 'So this is goodbye. . .' He said. I nodded. 'I guess so.' He turned around completely now, still biting his lip. 'Tori,' he whispered. 'What?' He breathed in deeply. <em>

_'Can I kiss you?' _

_My breath caught in my throat and I was speechless. Speechless, but I understood exactly what he meant. Slowly, I nodded.  
>He flashed a smile – a sad, resigned smile – and slowly leaned in. When his lips touched mine, I remembered every secret smile that had once warmed my heart, every gentle touch, every kiss, and slowly let go of every single one of those memories. <em>

_I shivered as Beck grazed his tongue past my lower lip. He pulled me closer, and I knew he was having a harder time letting go than I was. I gasped as he bit my lip and groaned as he pulled me onto his lap, kissing more passionate. I pulled away slowly when I felt like the kiss was going too far. _

_Beck was breathing heavily and only now did I see tears on his cheeks. Slowly, I got up and pulled him up. 'Talk to Jade, Beck. Please.' He nodded and wiped his cheeks dry.  
>'Bye Tori.' He picked up his jacket and hurried from my room.<br>I slowly sank onto the bed again and wiped my cheeks dry. _

'_Bye Beck,' I whispered. _

* * *

><p>André whirled me around by my hand and stared at me. 'You kissed him?' His voice was hurt, broken. I shook my head. 'André, no. It's not like that; please believe me.' He shook his head, his voice thick. 'Tori, are we seriously starting this all over again?' He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. 'I thought we were past that stage. I thought you'd chosen for real this time.' I shook my head and grabbed his hand. 'André, I did choose you. I always choose you. You told me you'd always believe I'd choose you, no matter what I'd do. I had to say goodbye to Beck. I've been in love with him for almost two years. Do you know how much it hurts letting go of all that?' André stared at me. 'But I have you now. And that's all I'll ever need.'<p>

He bit his lip and sighed. 'Tori . . .' I stepped closer, cupped his face in my hands and forced him to look in my eyes. 'Listen to me, André Harris. I love you. I love you with all my heart. Ain't no one going to change that.' André smiled, just a little bit, and leaned in to kiss me. 'I love you too, Tori Vega.'

* * *

><p><strong>Jade's house<br>BECK'S POV**

My palms were sweaty. Why the hell were my palms sweaty?  
>It wasn't like I was walking up to a certain death now was I? I bit my lip.<br>Who was I kidding? Of course I was. I was about to ask my ex-girlfriend out again. Ask her to start all over again.

But, as Tori had once told André and André had told me, my ex-girlfriend was a mean, vicious person with deep psychological problems. No wonder my palms were sweaty. But I loved her. I think.  
>I wasn't sure what love felt like. But if it was like I had once read in a poem, then I did love Jade West.<p>

Slowly, I willed myself to get out of my car, lock it, walk up to the front door and ring the bell. I bit my lip as I waited for a reply. 'Who's there?' A voice from the other side of the door called. I recognized Jade's mother.  
>'Mrs. West? It's Beck. I'm here to see Jade?' I could almost hear the wheels in her head spin as she tried to remember my name. Though Jade and I had been dating for two years, I'd been at her place a grand total of four times. We usually just camped out in my RV.<br>I mean, I might not get along with my dad, but Jade and her dad . . . Man, coming between those two was pure suicide. And Jade's mom was manic-depressive. And people wondered why Jade could be so bitter sometimes.

Finally the door opened. Jade's mother stood half-hidden behind the door. 'She's in her room. I'm sure you remember where that is. She said she'll throw her scissors at you.' I smirked. 'I bet she will.'  
>I stepped inside the large, handsome house and walked through the long corridor that led to the living room. Jade's dad was reading a book by the fireplace. I smiled politely. 'Hello Mr. West.' He hardly looked up from his book. Hardly surprised, I hurried through the door next to the television, up the stairs and to the bedroom at the end of the hall.<p>

I breathed in deeply. _Come on, Beck Oliver. _I told myself. _Don't be a weak kneed wuss; she's not gonna kill you. I hope. _I knocked. 'Jade? Can I come in?' A loud thud against the door told me Jade threw a pair of scissors at the door. I flinched.  
>'Come on Oliver,' I said out loud and pushed the door open. Jade's room was completely different from last time I saw it. The walls were still black and blue, but the general hate-factor in the room was lower. Jade was on the bed, her laptop next to her. She wasn't wearing any make-up, and if she was, it was so natural, I didn't see the difference.<p>

She scowled at me. 'What do you want?' She spat. I bit my lip and closed the door, seeing that she indeed had thrown her scissors at it. 'Jade. . .' I started, not moving away from the door. 'I'm sorry for what I did. I talked to Tori. . .' Jade made a face and shot imaginary daggers at my head. 'You're sorry? What good could that possibly do me, Oliver?'

I sighed. 'I know you want me back.' Her eyes widened in shock for a short moment before she smirked. 'Really? You do? So tell me, why on earth would I want a bigheaded, stupid, selfish jerk like you back?' I took a few steps forward to the bed, but stopped a few feet from her bed. 'Because I know you still love me. And I think I . . .' I hesitated at her sceptic expression. 'I think we should try again. Start all over.'

Jade laughed loudly. 'I gotta give it to you, Oliver, you got some nerve. First you dump me in front of Tori and André, tell us you're in love with Tori. Then, when you fuck her life, my life, André's life, when you fuck all of our lives up, you try to kill André and Tori, get her shot and when she finally picks André for real, you actually think you can come running back to me?'  
>During her little tirade, she'd jumped up and poked her finger in my chest several times. She fell silent and slowly looked up into my eyes. I wondered what she'd do next. Throw more scissors at my head? Choke me? Kick me out of her room?<p>

She did no such thing.

Before I had fully registered what was happening, she had pushed me up against a wall and crashed her lips on mine. I was kind of confused. Like skyscraper-size confused. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. Her lips on mine were addictive.  
>Slowly I allowed my instincts take over, rotating us, so I was now pushing Jade against the wall. She moaned softly when I dragged my fingers through her hair.<p>

After a few minutes, the kiss ended as sudden as it had began. Jade slowly pushed me a few steps back, a blissful smile etched on her face.  
>I tried to find words to tell her, to describe the inexplicable feeling in my gut. I wanted to tell her what I felt. Before I could however, Jade held out her hand. Hesitantly, I took it.<p>

'Hi,' she started, 'Jade West. Nice to meet you.' I couldn't help but smile at her effort. 'Hi. Beck Oliver. Nice to meet you too, Jade.'  
>She smiled suggestively. 'Now Beck, would you mind if I pushed you onto my bed and kissed you silly?' I grinned. 'Why no, not at all.'<p>

She grinned and leaned closer to kiss me again.

* * *

><p><strong>TWO DAYS LATER - VEGA RESIDENCE<br>TORI'S POV**

I seriously didn't get my parents' attitude. Mainly my dad. My mom seemed to understand André was important to me, but my dad. . . Boy, he all but ripped his head off when we told them we were dating.  
>And now I wasn't allowed to see him anymore. At all. I couldn't go out, I wasn't allowed to go to school until next week and my dad wouldn't let anyone but Cat in.<p>

I missed André. I was in actual physical agony as I imagined his arms around me at night, when I woke up screaming. My dad made sure he was there to comfort me when I did, but he just didn't seem to grasp the concept of 'no touching'. Thus, I was haunted by flashbacks almost constantly.  
>I cried a lot. From what Cat had told me, André wasn't doing much better.<p>

Beck on the other hand had started dating Jade again. And boy, had they changed. Jade started dressing less Goth-ish every day, actually smiled at other people than Cat, Beck and André and was generally polite to others. Hard to believe, and I couldn't wait to back to school to see it with my own eyes. Of course, my main reason to go back to school as soon as possible was that my dad couldn't forbid me to see André there.  
>I hadn't seen him since I'd been discharged at the hospital. André was supposed to pick me up and drive me home, but my dad had quickly prevented that and drove me home himself.<br>I texted André all the time, but texting, video chats and IM were just not enough. I needed to be with him.

As today was Saturday, I was actually counting down the hours 'til I could go to school. How weird was that?  
>But still. My dad was home, Trina and my mom were out shopping. I hated spending time alone with my dad right now, mostly due to the fact that he hated André's guts for no reason whatsoever.<p>

But, he insisted on some 'Father-daughter quality time', so I really had no other choice than to sit on the sofa and listen to his tales of what he had planned for my future.

I crossed my arms over my chest and made a face. 'Why am I here?' My dad threw a glance in my direction and shook his head. 'We're spending time together, Tori. It's important to spend time with the people you love.'  
>I scowled. 'You're not the one I want to spend time with.' He sighed. 'I know it hurts now, but one day you'll see I did this for your own good. That boy has gotten you into trouble twice and twice you nearly died.' I looked away. 'It wasn't his fault. And twice, he nearly died too.' My dad shook his head. 'No matter, Tori. I don't want you seeing him. I told you last time. If he sets so much as a toe out of line. . .' 'But that's not fair!' I cried. 'I don't remember anything, for one, and two, he didn't! The gang attacked us, not the other way around!'<p>

My dad opened his mouth for an angry retort, but was cut off by the bell. He frowned and turned to me. 'Expecting someone?' I shook my head. 'No.'  
>He got up and opened the door. In the door stood two men, both dressed in neat suits, their hair combed back neatly. I wanted to bet they were lawyers. They looked like lawyers always looked on the TV – in CSI or something.<br>'Hello,' one of them said, 'Jack Quade, criminal lawyer, this is my associate, Mark Callaway. You must be Mr. Vega?' My dad nodded. An uneasy feeling of upcoming trouble settled in the pit of my stomach. Lawyers at my house couldn't predict much good.

'We're here to see one Tori Vega?' The lawyer continued. As if in a trance, I got to my feet and stepped to my dad's side. 'Me? What did I do?' Jack Quade smiled. 'Nothing, dear, it's not about what you have done. It's about what you can do for us.' I bit my lip and frowned. 'I'm sorry, I don't quite follow.' My dad frowned. 'Neither do I.'  
>The other dude, Mark Callaway smiled uneasily. 'Ms. Vega, we have a delicate request for you. Perhaps it is best to do this inside, in private.' Slowly, I stepped aside and allowed them to enter my home.<p>

When we were all seated, me and my dad next to each other on the sofa, the two lawyers on kitchen chairs, they drew out a large brown folder from their bag. 'Ms. Vega, I understand this isn't a very comfortable subject for you to talk about, but we must ask. Last year, you and your friend, Mr.,' he checked his papers, 'André Harris, drove home after a party, but were attacked and brutally beaten by a gang. It says here you were raped.' I swallowed. 'Yes,' I finally said, 'Yes, that's true.' He nodded in confirmation and noted something on the paper. 'I am given to understand that you recall nothing since that moment, last year?' I nodded. 'I was told we'd been attacked again and that I was accidentally hit by a bullet, but I don't recall anything.'

He nodded again and noted something. 'We are building a case against the gangmembers that attacked you and Mr. Harris. We are trying to gather as many witnesses against them as we can, to ensure they will be punished severely for their crimes.' I chewed my lip. 'I don't see how I can be of any help. I don't remember anything anyway.' Quade shook his head and leaned forward. 'Right there, you are quite mistaken. You remember the first attack, don't you?' I nodded slowly. 'That's all we need. They don't allow their victims to live after robbing, beating or raping them. You and Mr. Harris are our two star witnesses. Our only witnesses.'

* * *

><p><strong>MONDAY – HOLLYWOOD ARTS – TORI'S LOCKER<br>TORI'S POV**

I opened my locker and threw in a few books and the homework Cat had brought over. My first day back at Hollywood Arts was to be quite the busy one too. Sikowitz, Dualson and Marxis in one day. I also had a free period after first break before lunch. I think André did too, but I wasn't sure, so I hadn't told my dad about it, or he might just send Trina after me. He already forced her to drive me to school. Even though she graduated last year, Trina enjoyed hanging out in Hollywood Arts as much as she had before. Even Derek, her boyfriend, couldn't keep her from it for very long.

Just as I wanted to shut the locker, I spotted an envelope taped to the door on the inside. No one could get into my locker. Only André knew my code.  
>I pulled the envelope loose and opened it. Inside was a single CD, no note or anything. I frowned. Slowly, I closed my locker and headed for the music room. I'm pretty sure there was a CD-player in there.<p>

Once there, I switched on the lights and spotted the CD-player instantly. I dropped my bag, put the CD in and pressed 'PLAY'.  
>Slowly, all too familiar music began to play. As the song played through the intro, I felt tears well up in my eyes.<br>When André's voice began singing the lines we had once sung together, I felt the tears run down my cheeks.

_I don't wear designer clothes,  
>I don't go to the finest schools<br>But I know I ain't no fool, Tori_

_I may not be a star,  
>I'm not driving the sickest car,<br>But I know I can make you happy, Tori_

_I don't know what you been used to  
>Never been with a girl like you<br>But I can give you a love that is true to  
>your heart not material things . . . <em>

I sank into a chair and let the tears stream down my cheeks freely. 'Gosh, André,' I whispered.

_I'll give you my song, these words  
>To you<br>Sing you what I feel  
>My soul is true<em>

_I don't have the world  
>can't give it to you girl<br>But all that I can do  
>Is give the song to you<em>

I felt a hand on my shoulder and smiled. Only one person wouldn't give me horrible flashbacks while touching me. I turned around, jumped up into André's waiting arms.  
>He smiled and hugged me so tight, I was convinced he would never let me go again.<br>I leaned back and took in his appearance. He looked tired.  
>'Thank you,' I whispered. He smiled and wiped away my tears with his thumb. 'You're welcome,' he replied.<p>

And then, as if it had been agreed, I let my lips meet his, pulling his closer, begging for him to hold me closer. The kiss became more heated, and I felt André smile as he dragged his fingers down my spine. I shivered, grinned and twisted my fingers in his dreads.

After a few minutes, we broke apart, panting, smiling. 'I missed you,' he grinned.  
>I smiled too and pressed my lips on his in a short kiss, 'I missed you too.'<br>He looked up as the music played its last notes. He turned off the CD-player and got the CD out. I took it from his hand and slipped back into the envelope.  
>I checked my watch and glanced back at André. 'Should we get to class?' André smiled. 'Yeah, sure. As long as I can sit next to you.' I smiled. 'You'd better.'<br>He pulled me into another hug and kissed me softly. When he leaned back I smiled. 'Please don't ever let go again.'

André smiled sadly and pressed a kiss on my forehead. 'I won't. I promise. I won't let go.'

* * *

><p><strong>Hellooooooow you guys,<strong>

**I know this chapter didn't turn out to be quite as good as I hoped it would be, but I hope you like it anyway xD**

**So, I published like two new stories, and msei09 has publised a story, kind of chapter 12 from Tori's POV.  
>It's really good, so all of you guys, go read and review!<strong>

**BTW, I know the last few chapters weren't as good as the previous, but I'd like it if you guys reviewed more, because I like to know what you, the readers, think of it. **

**SO, my message for this chapter is (I sound like a broken record) read and review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	18. Just    Perfect

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Victorious (How cool would that be?)**

**For those who didn't notice, I change the rating to M because . . . Well, it's something completely different. Not meant for sensitive souls. I'm not too sure about it, but I hope you can all appreciate it.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Just . . . Perfect<strong>

**TORI'S POV**

My day was just perfect. How could it not be? Sikowitz had us – meaning André and me – perform a scene from Romeo and Juliet, to see if it would be okay to use a black guy to play the part of Romeo, however hurtful that may sound. Apparently, the next production would be a new version of the ancient story, and I got the lead without even auditioning. Weird.  
>I wasn't complaining though, not after André got to be Romeo. Sikowitz explained our acting skills would be assessed in this play and the one after that, graded and counted as an exam.<p>

During the entire class, André had managed to somehow keep our bodies in constant contact, even if it just was holding my hand.  
>Mostly, he'd leaned against the wall and let my head lean against his chest. Much like Beck and Jade. Jade. . . I thought my jaw unhinged and dropped to the floor when I first saw her. She looked . . . Almost normal. Just a Jade kind of normal.<br>Her hair was . . . Different. Instead of straightening it completely and add blue strikes, she kept the natural curl and had added golden yellowish streaks. She wore a dark boyfriend jeans and a green shirt reading 'Love It!' with an arrow pointing to her left, where Beck usually stood. Her make-up wasn't dark and scary anymore. It was . . . Pretty. Natural. And she hadn't threatened to kill me. That had me upset the most. So weird.

Beck seemed okay. He smiled at me too, when André and I came inside, even though we were holding hands.  
>After Sikowitz's class, André and I planned to enjoy our free period together. Right now, we were just waiting for the bell to ring. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at André, who was tracing invisible lines on my palm. I leaned back to his chest and looked at Sikowitz, who was muttering something about missing coconuts. Robbie and Cat were silently talking to each other in the corner, Beck and Jade were kissing passionately and the rest of the class seemed to be texting or updating their status on The Slap.<p>

'How long?' I whispered to André. He brushed his lips past my ear and whispered, 'Two minutes.' I turned just a little bit and smiled as he softly let his lips meet mine. I lost track of everything that was happening around us. All I was aware of now were André's lips on mine. Suddenly a something hard hit my head and André's lips were suddenly torn away from mine. 'Ouch!' We both cried, and similar cries at the other side of the room told me Beck and Jade had undergone the same rough treatment. I turned to Sikowitz. 'Sikowitz!' I called at the mad teacher. Jade jumped up with a murderous glance in her eyes, and for a moment, I recognized the old Jade.

'Sikowitz!' She called. 'What the fuck, man?' Sikowitz smiled and clapped his hands. 'I have told you before Jade, kiss your boyfriend in your own time. Pay attention in my class.' I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. 'What do coconuts have to do with acting?'  
>Sikowitz turned to me. 'Everything Tori, as you would've know had you not been busy kissing André over there. You are not yet Romeo and Juliet.' I couldn't help but smirk at my crazy teacher who had just thrown a red ball at my head.<p>

Sikowitz opened his mouth to make another remark, but the bell ringing interrupted him. I jumped up and picked up my bag. Before I could throw it over my shoulder, André took the bag from my hand and hitched it over his own shoulder. I turned and frowned at him. He smiled and shrugged. 'I've got a lot of gentle man to make up for.'  
>I grinned and leaned up to kiss him quickly before hurrying outside, before Sikowitz could throw another ball at me.<p>

André followed me to my locker, dumped my bag in the locker and waved goodbye to Beck and Jade. I followed him outside to his car and grinned as he pushed me against the side of the car and kissed me. I pulled him closer and smirked as he groaned softly.  
>He leaned back, still smiling and said, 'Maybe we should go. Before our free period is over.' I grinned and nodded. He smiled and opened the door for me. I smirked as I got in.<br>'You know, the gentle man thing gets old pretty quick.' André laughed and got in the car too.

The drive to his place didn't take more than five minutes, and I honestly wondered why he bothered taking his car to school.  
>As we pulled into the driveway, André grinned at me. 'So have you thought about what you want to yet?' I shrugged. 'You pick.'<br>He rolled his eyes and got out of the car. Smirking, I got out too and followed him to the front door. He turned around at the door and pressed his lips on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned softly as his hands slid down my back to my ass. I felt him smile into the kiss as I wrapped my legs around his waist. 'Tori,' he moaned. I leaned back a little bit, my legs still wrapped around his waist. 'André,' I replied. He smiled and rotated us, pushing me with my back against the door. I reached blindly behind me, finally finding the doorhandle and pushed the door open. André stumbled inside, our lips in constant contact.

I grinned as he slammed the door shut with his foot; keeping our lips locked tight. I moaned as his hands slipped under my shirt. Groaning, he leaned back. 'Tori, don't. I'm not going to be able to hold back if you keep kissing me like that.' I bit my lip, suddenly feeling nervous. 'I don't want you to hold back.' I'm pretty sure he stopped breathing.  
>'Tori,' he slowly said, 'I don't think we should –' I pressed my lips on his to silence his hesitating retort. I wanted him to touch me.<br>His tongue grazed against mine and I felt his grip on my waist tighten. A few seconds later however, he pulled back again. I groaned in frustration.  
>I didn't know why, or how, but I had never wanted André as bad as I did then. Not that I remembered anyway.<p>

'Tori,' he whispered, concern and lust in his eyes, 'I don't think this is a good idea. What if I hurt you?' I bit my lip and nodded. 'Yes, it is. I want you,' I pressed myself up against him, 'I need you. You won't hurt me. I know you won't.' He groaned and his eyes grew darker with desire. I kissed him softly and twisted my fingers in his hair. 'Don't pretend you don't want to,' I whispered to his lips. He shook his head. 'I'm just afraid of hurting you,' he whispered. I smiled and kissed his neck. 'Don't be.'  
>He groaned as I pulled his lips to mine again, but he didn't pull back. He deepened the kiss and maneuvered us through the house to his bedroom, not once breaking the kiss.<p>

Once in his room, he kicked the door shut and carefully laid me down on his bed. He leaned back and placed several feather light kisses on my cheekline. Slowly, he brushed hair from my neck and sucked softly. I moaned as I felt a hickey coming up. As his lips moved back up to meet mine again, he slowly raised my shirt, pulling it over my head. He threw it aside and ran a hand over my tummy. I felt tingly everywhere, but between my legs, the tingly feeling became more constant, pounding kind of throbbing. Suddenly, André leaned back, and concern contorted his handsome features again.

'Tori, baby, are you sure about this?' He rubbed circles on my hips absent-mindedly. My heart was racing and I chewed the inside of my cheek. I nodded slowly. 'Yeah. André, I love you. I want you. And I trust you.' He bit his lip and leaned to kiss me again.  
>As his lips moved faster against mine, I let out an involuntary groan. Was it me or was the room getting hotter as the kiss grew more passionate? Quickly, he unhooked my bra and tossed it aside. Groaning, I arched my back, pushing myself against him. He smirked and kissed the valley between my breasts, down my tummy to the edge of my jeans. As slowly as he had taken off my shirt, he began to unbutton my jeans and pulled it down.<p>

I breathed in faster as I watched him pull his own shirt over his head, gazing at his muscular chest. Seriously, my heart was beating so fast, I thought it would stop at any given moment.  
>I stiffened under his touch as he kissed the inside of my thigh. He looked up. 'Tori, are you okay?' I nodded. 'Yeah.' 'Are you-' 'André!' I said, 'Please. Don't stop.' He smirked and continued kissing my thigh, gradually moving up. I moaned again and hit my head against the bed as he looked into my eyes and slowly removed my panties.<p>

I breathed in deeply as I felt his warm breath on me. He leaned up again and kissed me again, even more passionate. I twisted my fingers in his dreads, bringing his face closer to mine. I ran my hands down his chest, down to his pants, slowly unbuttoning it. I hadn't noticed how much my hands were shaking until André softly pushed them aside and slipped off his jeans. I drew a shaky breath and returned his kiss with less passion than before.

_Damn it, Vega, _I scolded, _You've slept with him before, don't be such a sissy.  
><em>André however, immediately knew I wasn't at ease anymore and slowed down. 'Do you want to stop, Tori?' He whispered in my ear, leaving a soft trail of kisses on my neck. I breathed in deeply. 'No. I'm just . . . Nervous.' André leaned up and smiled at me. 'Don't worry,' he whispered, 'It's all up to you.'  
>And once again he leaned down on me to kiss me. If I stopped focusing on breathing for more than three seconds, I could feel the hard on in his boxers pressing against my thigh. The throbbing between my legs became even more demanding. I reached for the hem of his boxers and slowly slipped them off. I gasped as I looked at his erection.<br>I wanted to feel him inside me.

I pulled his face closer to mine again and kissed him roughly. He bit my lip and soothingly ran his tongue over my lip. I moaned and stuck my tongue in his mouth.  
>He pushed me down softly and leaned over me. Softly, he continued to kiss me as he whispered, 'Are you sure?' one last time. I could see the lust and love in his eyes as he leaned over me. Slowly, I nodded.<p>

Still smiling, he leaned down to press his lips on mine as he thrusted into me. I moaned loudly and threw my head back. 'Oh God,' I breathed out as André as he began to thrust faster.  
>I moaned again and rocked my hips against his. I couldn't believe how my body just seemed to fit perfectly with his. My skin seemed like it was on fire as André's hands moved up and down my back.<br>I let moans escape my lips, varying in volume, depending on how hard he thrusted. My mind and thoughts were just blissfully blank – until I realized it wasn't enough. I wanted more.  
>I moaned loudly, threw my head back and breathed, 'Faster.'<br>He could hardly hide his smirk as he leaned down to kiss me, and began to thrust even faster than before.

'André…' I moaned, rocking my hips against his to match his quickened pace.  
>He moaned too. 'Say my name again,' he breathed.<br>'André,' I whispered sensually. With another kiss, he thrusted in me once more, pulled out almost all the way only to push back in with a hard thrust. Moaning loudly, I dug my nails into his back.

'Fuck,' I moaned, 'André. . .'

He kissed down my neck slowly and sucked softly on one of my nipples. Arching my back, I moaned louder and deeper than before as a thrust hit a certain spot. Hearing the moan and noticing that it was different than the others, Andre made sure to hit the spot repeatedly.  
>Grabbing my legs, he around his waist as he leaned over me to push in deeper. I grabbed onto the sheets as his thrusts went deeper.<p>

'Oooh, André,' I moaned yet again. He moaned too, and I could tell he was as close as I was.  
>'Tori,' He whispered, thrust into me again and hit my G spot. Thrusting my hips up towards him, I bit my lower lip so hard, I tasted blood. I felt my eyes roll back into my head as a sensation of being pushed over the edge washed over me. I screamed his name, and felt him thrust into me a few more times before he loudly moaned my name, finally feeling his own sense of release.<p>

He rolled off me, and I snuggled into his warm embrace, still breathing heavily. He pressed a kiss on my forehead and smiled. 'Are you okay?' He whispered, and a look of concern flitted through his eyes. I leaned up and nodded. 'Yeah. That was . . . Um . . Perfect. Everything it was supposed to be. Just perfect.' André smiled again and softly pressed his warm lips on mine.

I lay in his arms, enjoying the blissful aftermath of having sex with him for what was my first time, that I remembered anyway, and I just couldn't keep the grin off my face. André had commented it several times already, but even he had a hard time not smiling all the time. As our time was running out, and we had to get back to school, I hated having to see him put his clothes back on. The getting dressed was therefore regularly interupted as we kissed, found ourselves unable to stop and started making out again.

Finally, we were both dressed and presentable, and we headed downstairs again. Once in the car, I leaned back into the seat and gazed at my sweet, lovely, sensitive, romatic, handsome, sexy, irresistable boyfriend.

And everything was great.

Just perfect.

* * *

><p><strong>And that was that. I have never written a full sex scene before, and I'm still doubting if I should have, but it just felt like the right thing :D<br>Like, real Tandré action :p**

**Well, anyway, I have no idea when I can next update, but I promise I'll do so as soon as I can possibly manage. **

**So, everybody, I'd love to get 100 reviews one day, so if everyone just clicks the review button, maybe I"ll get there xD How nice would that be? **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle  
><strong>


	19. Moving Out

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own it. Wish I did.**

* * *

><p><strong>Moving Out<strong>

**TORI'S POV**

When I got back at school, I just couldn't keep the grin from my face. André remarked several times that I looked as if I had won the lottery.  
>I felt like I had won the lottery. The BF-lottery anyway. I couldn't help but wonder what I did right to deserve him. He kept saying I was being ridiculous if I told him that.<br>Sadly, his classes ended one hour before mine, and we had to say goodbye really quickly after our final class together.

'I'll miss you,' I whispered to his lips as I leaned away from his kiss. He smiled and wrapped his arms closer around my waist. 'You'll see me again tomorrow.' I smiled happily as he brushed a string of hair from my face and kissed me softly. The bell for my final class rang and André looked up, disturbed. He sighed and slowly pulled away. 'I'll see you tomorrow,' he said and groaned as I kissed him passionately. Finally, he leaned back and walked to the door. 'Just a few more hours, Tori. You'll be sleeping most of it.' I scowled. 'Dreaming of you. I don't want to settle for the second best thing.' He smirked, pressed a quick kiss on my lips and pushed me back into the school. 'Come on,' he said, still smiling, 'Get to class. I'll see you tomorrow. Promise.' I grinned, walked backwards and blew a kiss at him as he turned around and headed for his car.

Groaning, I turned around and headed for my R&B vocals class.  
>I apologized to the teacher for being late and hurried to the back of the class. They were in the middle of a song, and I quickly joined in as I remembered the lyrics to the song.<br>I couldn't keep my head with the class though, as my thoughts kept swarming around my head, and I kept rethinking our free period together. I blushed lightly.  
>I couldn't believe how perfect we seemed to be for each other. Nothing could've ruined my great mood. Nothing, except . . .<p>

'Tori!' Dualson yelled. 'Pay attention! Where is your head, girl? I know it's your first day back, but I expect you to do as good as before. Keep your head in the game.' I blushed vigorously as the whole class stared at me and nodded slowly. 'Sorry sir.'  
>He nodded approvingly and explained our assignment for our final grade. We were to write an R&amp;B song, perform with it in the Junior Showcase and explain the meaning behind the song.<br>I bit my lip, wondering if André would help me write the song. I still wasn't all too good in writing things down into lyrics that sounded good.

We were given the last twenty minutes to try and think of an idea to write a song about. My thoughts wandered off to André again and when the bell rang I found myself with a paper filled with tiny little absently drawn circles and hearts. Smirking, I stuffed my paper in my bag and hurried outside.  
>Trina was already waiting by the car, behaving as if she were some kind of superstar when people greeted her.<br>I tried to look annoyed – which wasn't so difficult anymore – and got in the car.

'So?' Trina singsonged as she got into the car. I glanced at her. 'So what?'  
>She smiled. 'I know you saw André today. How was the reunion?' I smirked and let the amazing feeling fill me up again. 'Just great, Trina. What did you expect? That I was going to break up with him because dad told me to?' Trina shrugged and hit the accelerator.<br>'Well, I don't know. You've always been the good girl. It was about time you did something he didn't want you to do.' I leaned back into the seat and closed my eyes. 'Whatever, Trina.'  
>She laughed and then said, suddenly, 'Is that a hickey?' I sat up instantly and my hand shot up to my neck immediately. 'No.' I said, perhaps a little bit too fast.<br>Trina grinned. 'Glad to see people still use the janitor's closet.'

I rolled my eyes. 'It's not a hickey. And you're not telling dad about it. Understand?' Trina smirked. 'Maybe I won't. But if it's not a hickey, what could you possibly be worried about?' I shrugged, calling up the actress in me. 'Nothing. But you know dad. He'll freak out.' Trina laughed and nodded. 'Sure Tori.'

I closed my eyes in desperation and tried to ignore my sister.  
>My phone buzzed. Text from André.<p>

_Miss U – X_

I grinned. Typical André, sending a text because he was bored.  
>I smiled as I replied and didn't notice Trina grinning at me.<p>

_Hey cutie,  
>Miss U 2.<br>Call me l8r?_

_X_

When I looked up, she smirked. 'Your boyfriend texted you?' I bit my lip. 'Keep your nose out of my business, Trina.' She grinned and glanced at me. 'Don't worry little sis, I won't tell on you.' I was so stunned in surprise I could only stare. Trina doing something for someone other than herself? Where's the catch?  
>'You . . . You won't? Why?' She shrugged and kept her eyes on the road. 'I know what you feel like. You love him. I bet you love André more than I ever loved anyone, but I think my feelings for Derek are close enough. I don't even want to think about dad forbidding me to see him.'<br>I didn't know what to say. 'Thanks,' I finally managed to whisper.

She smiled. Our conversation had taken just long enough for us to arrive at home. I scowled, but it wasn't enough to lift my crazy great mood. Happily chatting with Trina, we walked up to the front door and entered through our front door.

My parents looked up, surprised at seeing us chat so normally, without trying to kill each other. 'Hi,' my dad said, 'How was school?' I smiled. 'Great.'  
>He raised an eyebrow. 'Really?' I nodded, 'Yeah. Really.'<br>He exchanged a glance with my mom before saying, 'And André?' I bit my lip.  
>'What about him?' My dad leaned on the counter. 'What did he say?'<br>I smiled. 'He didn't say much. He was . . . Otherwise occupied.' Maybe I was kind of mean. Or just a real teenager. But I just loved the look of absolute disbelief that appeared on my parents' faces. 'Tori!' My dad called. 'What?' I yelled back.

He walked toward me and yelled. 'I told you to break up with him.' I rolled my eyes and tossed my bag into a corner with an angry gesture. 'And you actually thought I'd listen? I told you I loved him.' Groaning, he cursed loudly and threw his hands up in the air. 'Tori, you're barely eighteen. You can't possibly know what –' He stopped abruptly and stared at me. I frowned. He grabbed me by my shoulders and wiped my hair from my neck.  
>'VICTORIA MARIE VEGA!' He roared. 'What did you do?' I struggled his grip, but it was too firm. My mom and Trina stared at us, but didn't move. None of us had ever seen dad this angry. 'Nothing!' I yelled back. 'And let me go!'<p>

'Tori! That's a hickey! I told you to break up with André, not make out!'  
>I finally managed to pry his fingers off my upper arms, even though I was sure it would leave bruises. 'And I told you I wouldn't! Stop pushing me around like a child! I can make my own decisions!' 'NO! You obviously cannot!'<br>As he moved in to grab my wrist again, I walked back several steps, trying to avoid his iron grip.

But one, miscalculated step caused several things to happen at once. I tripped and fell backwards, hitting my head against the bench by the piano. I cried in pain, and it seemed to snap my entire family out of their crazy behavior. All of them jumped at me and Trina and my mom helped me up gently. I beat off their hands and got up. My dad was still where he had been before I fell. He was fuming.

But so was I. I was so sick of having to do everything my parents wanted me to do.  
>I was not going through with it anymore.<p>

'Just leave me alone,' I said. Mom and Trina started talking at the same time, but my dad just stood there.  
>'No!' I yelled. 'You know, I was in the greatest mood today. And you,' I pointed accusingly at my dad, 'ruined it completely within five minutes!' He opened his mouth to shout an angry reply, but I beat him to it. 'I'm so sick of you trying to control my life! I get it. You're worried. But I'm eighteen, I can make my own decisions!' He shook his head angrily and approached on me. 'Not as long as you live under my roof, young lady!'<p>

'Fine!' I yelled. 'Fine! I'll get my stuff and move out!' Nothing I'd said so far seemed to have shocked them as much as this. But I meant it.  
>Before any of them could say anything else, I stomped up the stairs to my room and slammed the door shut harder than I should have. Still fuming, I pulled a large bag from my closet and threw some clothes in it. When I calmed down just a little bit, I realized what I had thrown together; I had just grabbed the things from the top of my pile of clothes.<br>Things André liked.  
>Slowly, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed André's number. He picked up after the second ring.<p>

'Hi baby. What's up?'

I bit my lip. 'Do you think it'd be okay if I stayed at your place for a few days?'

He hesitated. 'I guess. Why? What happened?'

I shook my head and tried to swallow hot tears that suddenly burned in my eyes. 'Nothing. I just. . . I can't stand it here anymore. Please, can I stay over?'

'Yeah, Tori, of course. D'you want me to come pick you up?'

'Nah. I'll be there in half an hour.'

'Okay. Love you.'

I bit my lip and wiped away a tear on my cheek. 'Love you too.'

I hung up and jumped off my bed, stuffed some extra stuff into my bag, slung it over my shoulder and left my room. Once downstairs, I found complete chaos.  
>My mom and dad were screaming at each other at the top of their voices, Trina was angrily pacing around and randomly shouting insults at both of them.<br>I breathed in deeply and walked down the stairs.

I'd grabbed my schoolbag and keys and was about to leave when they noticed me. 'Tori,' my mom began, 'honey, you're not really leaving, are you?' I hitched my bag higher up my shoulder and nodded. 'Yes I am. Maybe a bit of distance will do us all some good. I'll be over at André's if you're looking for me.' And with that I left my parents and Trina, standing in our living room, stunned in shock.

I closed the front door behind me and leaned back against it. I could still hear my mom yell at my dad. His replies were not all too friendly either.  
>'Now look what you've done!' My mom yelled. 'You've driven her away! We're losing her! Are you happy now?'<p>

'No I am not! Do you expect me to jump up and down in joy when I tell my daughter to do something and she does the complete opposite!' I could almost see him pace through the door. 'She's eighteen! She doesn't know what she wants!'

Suddenly Trina's voice was raised too, loud enough for me to hear. 'Dad, stop behaving like a maniac! Tori loves André! What could possibly be so bad about that?'

'She's acting like a whore!' My dad yelled. He might as well have slapped me in the face. I felt like . . . Like . . . I don't know. I didn't even know I was crying.  
>I didn't stay to listen what else they'd be saying. I bit my, trying to stop from crying too hard to see clear, and hurried to my car.<p>

As I turned the key to the ignition, I felt infinite pain wash over me.  
>My dad hated me. He said I was a whore.<br>How do you deal with that?

* * *

><p><strong>André's house – the same night<br>ANDRÉ'S POV**

I paced through my room, trying to think of what to do with this mess.  
>I talked to my mom and she said she was okay with Tori staying here as long as she liked, as long she didn't have to listen to us getting at it.<br>My mom was cool that way. She didn't go crazy at the thought of me having sex with my girlfriend. She didn't even mind her staying over and sleeping in my room.

Tori had seemed so upset over the phone, I couldn't possibly say no to her. I wondered what could possibly have her so upset that she felt like she had to run away.  
>I dropped myself on my bed and closed my eyes. Maybe she'd told her dad . . . But she wouldn't have.<br>A nasty feeling nestled itself in the pit of my stomach. I hated it when Tori was upset.  
>I lay there, on my bed, listening to the pounding of the rain on my window and trying to think of what I could do for Tori, when I heard the doorbell ring.<p>

I jumped up, ran out of my room and yelled, 'I'll get it!' to no one in particular.  
>I skipped down the stairs and wrenched the door open.<br>Tori was on my doorstep, carrying two bags, her make-up run and her hair wet and tangled. As soon as she saw me, she launched herself in my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.  
>I hugged her closely and softly rubbed up and down her back. 'Tori,' I whispered.<br>'Baby, what's wrong?' She shook her head against my chest and sobbed even harder.  
>'He called me a whore, André. . .' She managed to choke.<p>

I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water in my face. I knew Tori's dad. I liked the man. I couldn't possibly believe he would say something that horrible to Tori. 'Oh no. .' I said, 'Tori, I'm so sorry.' I softly pressed a kiss on her wet hair and pulled her closer into my embrace. She wrapped her arms around my neck and cried into my shirt, mumbling something incoherent every few seconds. I don't know how long we stood there, and I honestly didn't care. Finally, Tori leaned back and blinked vigorously, trying to blink away her remaining tears.  
>'I'm sorry,' she said softly, 'For crying all over you, I mean.' I smiled. 'I don't mind. It'll be fine.' I pressed a soft kiss on her lips and took one of her bags. 'Come on,' I said, 'Let's get your stuff upstairs.' She smiled weakly.<p>

As she followed me up the stairs, I turned and smiled at her. 'And you'll have to take those clothes off.' She frowned. 'André, I love you, but that's the last thing I'm thinking about now.' I smirked. 'You're all wet. How long have you been in the rain anyway? You must be soaked.' She glanced down at her clothes and shrugged. 'I didn't even notice.'  
>I smiled at her. 'I know.'<p>

As we reached the top of the stairs, my little sister poked her head around the corner. 'Hi Tori,' she said. 'Why are you so wet?' Tori smiled weakly. 'It's raining.'  
>She smirked. 'Are you and André going to make kissy faces at each other all day?' I frowned. 'We don't make kissy faces all day!' Sofia – that's my sister's name – laughed. 'Right. Like you didn't last time Tori came over.' Tori frowned, but I shook my head. That time, she didn't remember. I turned to my sister again. 'Now go away.'<br>She grinned. 'So you and Tori can do bad things in your room?' She laughed. 'Tori and André sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I –' My mom walked in on the scene just in time and shut Sofia up.

'Hi Tori,' My mom said, smiling kindly. 'Are you okay? You look a little . . . ' She bit her lip, but Tori smiled. 'Yeah, Mrs. Harris, I'm okay. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.' My mom nodded. 'Anytime sweetie. I'll just let you and André figure out how you're going to do this. We're having dinner in an hour, okay?' We nodded and my mom gestured at Sofia.  
>'Come on, you can help me with dinner.'<p>

I grinned at Tori and opened the door to my room. Tori walked in and smiled.  
>'You know, you're room is beautiful.' I grinned. 'Thanks. Take you this long to notice? It's not the first time you're in here.' She grinned and set down her bag. 'Well, I think I was quite distracted last time.' I smiled and pulled her into my arms. She smiled and leaned up to press her lips on mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and snaked her fingers through my hair. Slowly, I dragged my tongue past her lower lip and smirked as she opened her mouth and grazed her tongue past my lip. I groaned and stumbled back to the bed, sitting down on it, pulling Tori on my lap in the process.<p>

A few minutes later, we broke apart for air. She smiled. 'Why is it that every time you kiss me, the whole world seems better?' I smiled broadly. 'I guess I'm just good at that.'  
>She smiled and slowly got up. 'Look what I did to your shirt. You're all wet.' I smiled. 'Maybe we should fix that.' She smiled mischievously and grabbed the hem of my shirt, slowly pulling it over my head. She ran her hands over my chest and pressed kiss on my lips. I smirked, ignored how stupidly girlishly tingly I felt, and slipped my hands under her shirt.<br>Slowly, I pulled it over her head, pressing my lips on hers again as soon as they were free.  
>I ran my fingers through her soft, fruity-scented hair and pulled her closer.<p>

Just as slowly, she tugged at my jeans. I smirked into the kiss and unbuttoned her jeans, quickly pulling it down. At the same moment she managed to pull my jeans down, leaving both of us with nothing but our underwear on. I grinned and leaned back from the kiss, smiling at the sight of her flushed cheeks. 'I thought you said you weren't thinking about that.' She laughed. 'That was before you kissed me.' I smirked and picked up our clothes. 'Get dressed. My mom'll be calling us for dinner soon.' She grabbed hold of my arm and kissed me again. 'How soon?' I grinned. 'Too soon.'

Scowling, she reached for her bag and pulled out a dry shirt and some shorts.  
>While she dressed, I opened my closet, moved some of my clothes and turned back to Tori. 'If you want,' you can put your stuff in here.' Her eyes widened in surprise. 'You'd let me put my stuff in your wardrobe?' I shrugged. 'Yeah. Why not?' 'Ooh, André,' she crooned, 'That's so sweet.' I scowled. 'No it's not.' She approached on me and wrapped her arms around my neck. 'Yes, it is and you know it.' I could hardly bite back the smirk that appeared on my face and rubbed her arms up and down. When I reached her shoulders, I noticed her flinch. I pulled back my hands immediately.<p>

'Tori,' I started, 'What is that?' As I carefully pulled her closer, I could see a purplish bruise forming on both her arms. 'Tori, who did that?' She bit her lip.

'Tori!'

She turned her gaze to meet mine slowly. 'My dad grabbed me a little too firm, that's all.' I frowned. 'Tori, you should –' She shook her head. 'It was an accident. He was pissed off, that's all.' I groaned. 'Now I'm pissed off.' She kissed me. 'Don't be. I'm fine now.'

'Tori! André!' My mom yelled. 'Dinner!' I looked down at my bare chest and boxers. Tori followed my gaze with her eyes and smirked. 'Oops,' she said. I grinned and kissed her softly. 'Oops it is.'

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know what you think xD<br>I don't have the energy to write a huge author's note.**

**All I really have to say is please please please, review!**

**Thanks for reading! **

**Xx Annaelle**

**BTW, I promise there a some exciting things coming up.**


	20. Witness

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. Not at all. Bummer. **

**SONG (partly): She's so gone - Lemonade Mouth**

* * *

><p><strong>Witness<strong>

**Two weeks later  
>TORI'S POV <strong>— **ANDRÉ'S BEDROOM**

I closed my eyes and listened to André as he played a few notes on his guitar.  
>He stopped and I could feel his eyes on me. 'What?' I said, without opening my eyes. He laughed softly. 'You look cute.' I felt a smile grace my lips. 'Focus on the song, you moron.' I opened my eyes to look at his smirk. He got up, laid down his guitar on the chair, walked up to the bed and leaned over me. 'Do remind me, weren't you supposed to write it?' I grinned and pulled him onto the bed with me. He groaned and pressed his lips on mine.<p>

Somehow, I ended up straddling his waist, his hands under my shirt. Finally, he pushed me up, away from him and smirked. 'What were we talking about again?' I smiled mischievously. 'Nothing important.'  
>André laughed loudly and flipped us over, pushing me into the mattress. 'You are so bad, Tori Vega,' he whispered before pressing his lips on mine again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me. He let his tongue slide against mine and let his fingers snake through my hair. I smirked into the kiss as he groaned and slipped his hands under my shirt.<br>We broke apart after five solid minutes, finally remembering we had to breathe every now and then. André smiled at me. 'Maybe we should get back to writing the song,' he smirked.

I laughed. 'Are you actually trying to convince me to do homework instead of kissing you silly?' He smiled. 'Why yes, yes I am.' I scowled as he jumped off the bed. 'Come on,' he said, pulling me up by my hand. 'The song's due next week and the Showcase is the week after that. We really have to get this done.' I bit my lip. 'But I can't write a song. I just can't.' André picked up his guitar. 'Yeah you can. Just think of what you felt and tell me and I'll help you put it into lyrics.' I scowled and sat up.

'So what do we have so far?' I asked. André looked over his shoulder, reached for the notebook on his desk and threw it in my direction. It landed safely on the bed and I picked it up. On that one sheet—not to mention the rest of the room—one could see the hard work we'd done already. The floor was littered with crumpled papers, torn pages, and on the paper I was holding now were several crossed out sentences and the beginning of the chorus.

I bit my lip. 'Play the chorus,' I said and reread the words on the paper.  
>André nodded and set himself to playing the first few notes.<br>Before I started singing, I took a few deep breaths, trying to find the right feeling while singing the lines.

'So it looks like the joke's on you,  
>cause the girl that you thought you knew,'<br>I waited for André to play through the bridge and continued,  
>'She's so gone. . .'<br>'That's your world for now, she's so gone . . . '  
>'Na na na na na . . .' I singsonged as the lyrics on the sheet ended. Andre grinned.<br>'Sounds good doesn't it?' I nodded and bit my lip. 'But it's not nearly finished.' He smirked.  
>'It's a song, Tori. It's supposed to take a while.' I smiled despite myself.<p>

'So what are we going to—' My words were interrupted by the shrill sound of the doorbell. André and I exchanged a glance as André's mom yelled she'd get it.  
>André put down his guitar again and walked to the door, peeking his head outside. I got up and straightened my shirt as I did. 'Who's she talking to?' André glanced back at me. 'Don't know.' He turned around and closed the door. 'Guess she'll tell us later.'<p>

I opened my mouth to say something when André's mom pushed the door open, nearly knocking over André as she did.  
>'Tori, André,' she said, her expression grim, 'There are two men downstairs to see you. Two lawyers. One Jack—' I interrupted her. 'Jack Quade?' She nodded. I looked at André. 'The men I told you about. They want us to witness against the gang.' André glanced at his mom.<br>'What do they want?' She shrugged. 'They didn't say.'  
>André reached for my hand. 'I guess we'll go see.'<br>I nodded. 'I guess so.' André's mom looked rather worrisome at us as we left the room and headed downstairs.

The two lawyers I met before were seated at the kitchen table, their papers spread out on the table before them. As they spotted us, they both got up and smiled politely.  
>For the first time today I felt awfully aware of what I was wearing. André seemed to think along the same lines as he glanced at me, giving me a quick once-over.<br>I glanced down myself and bit my lip. I was wearing black shorts that stopped mid-thigh and that were so low on my hip, my lace underwear showed. My top was bright red and read 'All Yours'. Uncomfortable, I tugged at my shorts, trying to hitch them a little bit higher on my hips. André grinned at my attempts.

The lawyer—Jack Quade, was it? — smiled politely at André and held out his hand. 'Hello. I don't believe we've met. Jack Quade, criminal lawyer.' André shook his hand and nodded. 'Yeah, Tori told me about you.' He nodded at me and held out his hand. 'Miss Vega, nice to see you too again.' I shook his hand and bit my lip, still tugging at my shorts. 'So, is there a particular reason you are here?' André asked, still holding on to my hand. Jack nodded and gestured at the chairs at the opposite side of the table. Slowly, André, me and his mom sat down.

Jack and his associate, whatever his name was, rummaged through their papers.  
>'So,' Jack started, 'As I told you last time, miss Vega, you and Mr. Harris are our star witnesses on this case, not to mention our only eyewitnesses.' I nodded slowly. 'Yeah, you did.' He smiled and looked at a paper he was holding. 'The trial is due in a week. We need to know if you and Mr. Harris would be willing to testify in the trial itself. We can file your statements as evidence, but to make an infinite impression of the damage the gang has done, we need your statements.'<p>

André and I exchanged a glance. I felt like my stomach had dropped to my feet. 'Testify? You want us to tell everyone what they have done to us?' André's voice was hard and cold.  
>Jack nodded. 'It's the only way we can make sure they'll be locked up for a long time.'<br>I felt André's eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes from my hand.  
>Finally I looked up. 'I can't tell you anything. I don't remember.'<br>Jack inclined his head slightly. 'But you can tell us about the first time. And Mr. Harris can recite the second attack.' I hesitated, as did André. 'Look,' the other dude said, 'I know this sounds scary. It must be frightening to recite the entire story to people you don't even know. And there's a fair chance you won't have to either. Often, the written evidence is enough for a conviction. All we ask is to add your names to the witness-list.'

André's hand found mine and he wove his fingers into mine. As I looked into his eyes, I knew what he was going to say. My eyes still locked on André's, I slowly nodded.  
>'Fine. Add our names to the list. But I won't be able to tell you anything.' He nodded and smiled. 'Then you will have to sign these forms.' I frowned. 'What for?'<br>'They're forms to indicate you two agreed to everything being a witness holds.' Jack nodded. 'Read the form well before you sign it.' I nodded and took the paper.

* * *

><p><strong>The following morning<strong>—**HOLLYWOOD ARTS****  
>ANDRÉ'S POV<strong>

Tori was at her locker, chatting happily with Cat and Jade, while Beck and I were at his locker, talking about the Junior Showcase and . . . Stuff.  
>Beck grinned. 'So, how is it?' I frowned. 'How is what?' Beck stuffed his book in the locker, slammed it shut and grinned. 'Living together. I mean, I know you live with your mom and sister and everything, but you and Tori still live in the same house . . . Sleep in the same room, the same bed. . It's bound to be quite cool, right?'<br>I smiled. 'Well, yeah, it is, but I mean, my mom keeps walking in on us, so it's not that much of living together.'

Beck grinned and bit his lip for a moment. 'I got a call yesterday. Some lawyer.' I nodded. 'Yeah, they came to see us yesterday.' Beck swallowed and his face clouded. 'Did they tell you they were charging me with attempted murder? They said someone pressed charges against me. But the only people that know what happened are you and me. And those gang dudes.'  
>I stared at him. 'I didn't. Mate, I told them that tall gang dude shot Tori.' Beck nodded. 'I know. I just don't know who else would've done it.'<p>

I bit my lip. 'They can't press charges on you. I mean, that's just madness. You didn't do anything.' Beck rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, I kind of did.' I shrugged. 'But you tried to help us in the end. That's all that matters. Isn't it?' Beck threw up his hands in frustration. 'To you and me perhaps. But not to them.' I hit my hand on the lockers and groaned. 'But they can't press charges if Tori and I don't testify.'  
>Then realization hit me like a hammer. We would testify. Even if we didn't want to. We signed the papers.<p>

I gawked at Beck. 'Oh shit,' I heard myself say. 'Crap. Beck, dude, this is bad. This is really bad.' Beck nodded. 'No shit.'  
>I bit my lip. 'What can we do about it? I already said you didn't have anything to do with it, but apparently, they don't believe us.' Beck rolled his eyes. 'Really? You think?'<br>I bit my lip again. 'Well we have to make up something. Why you were there with us, for instance.' Beck nodded. 'Yeah, but why would they believe us now?'  
>'I don't know but—' I stopped as Beck shot me a warning glance. Tori and Cat were walking up behind us, smiling widely. I exchanged a glance with Beck and in that instant, without words, we decided not to tell Tori anything about it.<p>

'Hi guys,' Tori smiled and wove her fingers into mine instantly. I forced a smile on my face and kissed her quickly. Cat grinned and jumped up and down. 'What were you two talking about?' Beck swallowed and tried to smile. 'Just guy stuff, Cat. You wouldn't get it.'  
>I rolled my eyes as I saw Cat's expression cloud. 'Here we go again,' I whispered to Tori, who smirked slightly.<p>

'What's that supposed to mean?' Cat yelled at Beck.  
>He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 'Nothing Cat, it's just—'<br>Her eyes swam in tears and she slapped Beck on his arm. 'Why are you always so mean to me?' She turned and ran away. Beck stared after her, nonplussed, before yelling, 'Cat! Come on, you know that's not what I meant.' He smiled apologetically at us and chased after her.

Tori frowned and smiled at the sight of the pair before turning back to me.  
>'Is it me or do our friends get weirder every day?' I was about to answer when Jade walked through the door wearing . . . A dress! And a normal one too! She almost looked like Cat. Just with black hair. I turned to Tori. 'Yeah, I think they do.'<br>She smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. 'I think I might too, if I didn't have you.'  
>I smiled and leaned in to brush my lips past hers.<br>'You're already crazy. Crazy talented.' I smiled and kissed her. 'And you're all mine.'  
>She grinned and kissed me back. 'As you are all mine.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So, I know this isn't as exciting as I promised, but I promise, it will get there xD<br>I just wanted to give you some drama-free, normal, cute Tandré :) **

**Next chapters: the trial and the talk with lawyers about Beck.  
>Just wait and see xD You'll love it :p<strong>

**I think. **

**Please, everyone, keep reviewing!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	21. Memoriam

**Disclaimer: No. Still not mine. Damn.**

* * *

><p><strong>Memoria<br>TORI'S POV**

My hands were shaking. My hands were shaking so bad, I couldn't even button the blouse properly.  
>And this time, André wasn't there right beside me to calm me down. I had to do this on my own.<br>I bit my lip and focused on buttoning the blouse, checking my sober make-up in the large mirror and twisting my hair into a loose bun in the back of my neck.

_This is it. _I thought. _This is what I've been waiting for. Today's the day. Today, we'll get them down. _

I breathed in deeply and turned around as the door opened.

'Are you ready?'

I glanced into the mirror one last time.

'Yeah. I'm ready.'

* * *

><p><strong>TWO MONTHS EARLIER<br>TORI'S POV  
><strong>

I stared at André.

'No. They can't. Beck hasn't done anything.'

He nodded and sat down next to me. 'I know. But they won't believe us. They say they have infinite evidence that Beck was the one holding the gun.'

I looked down at my hand as he took it in his and gently squeezed it. 'We have to do something,' I whispered. André shook his head. 'We tried. We've been trying ever since we found out. There's no one but the gang and me to testify to what really happened that night.'  
>I bit my lip. 'But there has to be something we can do. . Maybe . . . Maybe I can say I remember, and say that Beck didn't hold the gun. That he tried to take it from that dude.' I looked at André. 'That's sort of what happened, right?'<p>

He let his gaze meet mine, and I could see the answer there before he said it. 'You can't lie in court, Tori. That's perjury. Even Beck wouldn't have you do that.' I jumped up, feeling anger and frustration bubble up inside of me. 'They shouldn't even be looking at Beck! He didn't try to kill me! That bloody gang ruined everything!' I ran a hand through my hair. 'They gang-raped me, for god's sake. Why aren't they charging them?'

André got up too and wrapped his arms around my waist. 'I don't know, Tori. I honestly don't know.'

* * *

><p><strong>LA COURTHOUSE - Two days later<br>**

'So, André',' Jack Quade started, 'When you're in court, I'll just start by asking your name, where you live and why you and Tori were in that part of town that night, alright?'  
>André nodded slowly, rubbing his palms nervously.<p>

Casey, a young girl with strawberry-blond curls, smiled encouragingly at him. 'Why don't we try this out for a bit?'  
>'What is your full name?' André bit his lip and sat up a little bit straighter. 'André Harris,' He replied.<br>Casey nodded and pretended to note something on the piece of paper before her. 'And you live?' '39, Gregory Way.' She nodded again, laid down the pen and looked at André.

'Tell us exactly what happened that night.' André fidgeted. 'What do you want to know?'  
>'Why were you there?' He looked up and smiled. 'Tori and I were on a date. I took her to see a movie and we had dinner afterward.'<br>Jack rubbed his palms. Things were about to get interesting.  
>'And what did you do after dinner?'<p>

'We walked to my car, I'd parked it in one of those alleys, and when we were about to get in, that gang dude said something behind us, and they were all there.' Casey frowned. 'You hadn't seen them as you walked to the car?'  
>André smiled sheepishly. 'I wasn't exactly paying attention to the scenery. Tori has a habit of being. . . Distracting at times.'<p>

Jack and Casey grinned and exchanged a glance. They both remembered perfectly well what it had been like to be teenagers on a date.  
>'So you didn't hear them first because you were being distracted by your girlfriend. And then?'<br>André's eyes glazed over as he dove into the memory. Jack hated this part of the job. Having to force people to remember the worst moments of their lives.

'The tall one, the leader, the one that . . . that raped,' André's voice broke, but he didn't stop, 'Tori, he said it was nice to see us again.' Casey bit her lip. 'And?' She said when André remained silent. 'I pushed Tori back. I didn't want her to be scared. I didn't want them to touch her again. He . . . He talked. Said he was going to kill us, because we shouldn't have lived through the first time.'  
>André continued in a dull voice, reciting the rest of the evening in detail. Casey felt slightly nauseated. Jack didn't feel all too well either, but leaned forward as André's story headed to the point where he hoped it would get to.<p>

'He pulled a gun and would've shot us if Beck hadn't stopped him.' Jack's stomach dropped to his feet. The kid was lying. He was his best witness and he was lying. He jumped up, towering over André, and spoke in a low, threatening voice. 'Look, we know Beck was the one to hold the gun. We know he shot Tori. We don't know why you are trying to protect him. He tried to kill your girlfriend!'  
>André shook his head, but didn't say anything.<p>

Jack felt frustration boil up inside of him. 'We can charge you too, you know. Your fingerprints are on the gun as well. Is that the big secret? You and your little friend conspired to shoot Tori, and when she lived, you had to pretend you were worried, didn't you?'  
>André was getting riled up, and Jack knew it. <em>Just a little bit more,<em> he thought.  
>'And then she lost her memory, and that was just perfect, because now there was no one left to point the finger at the pair of you, you li—' André jumped up and thumped his hand on the table. 'No!Beck would never shoot Tori! Neither of us would! I love her! He loves her!'<p>

Jack leaned back, satisfied. 'Now we're getting somewhere. Tell us what really happened that night. What was Beck doing there and why was he holding a gun?'  
>André groaned and dropped himself back in the chair. He breathed in deeply a few times before he started talking.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>André's house - The same night (Three PM)<strong>

**TORI'S POV**

I leaned to the kitchen sink and sipped from the glass of water. André had been off all night, upset about something, but he refused to tell me.  
>I drained the glass and refilled it, turning around in the process.<br>I startled and spilled the contents off the glass on the floor as I found André standing right behind me. 'Damn it, André! I told you not to sneak up on me. Now look what you've done.' I gestured at my wet shirt—that was actually his— and the wet floor. He shrugged and smiled guiltily. Slowly, I let him pull me into his arms and leaned up to kiss him.  
>He pushed me back against the sink and let his hands wander under the shirt. I groaned and pulled back to breathe. He was still smiling.<p>

'Why are you smiling?' I said, brushing my lips past his. He smirked. 'You look so damn cute I might do things I'll regret later.'

And it hit. I gasped for air as images filled my head. I was barely aware of André's hands on my shoulders.  
><em>As André's hands found their way to my bra, he stopped for the shortest moment. He looked down on me, his cheeks flushed with excitement.<em>  
><em>'Are you sure about this, Tori? If you want to stop, I can just—' I kissed him again. 'I'm sure about you, André,' I whispered. Those words seemed to take away all the self-restraint he had. His lips found mine again.<em>

One flashback followed the other, and I felt like I was drowning. Drowning in memories.

_I wanted to say something, but the way he looked at me was utterly distracting._  
><em>'Beck,' I said, 'Stop looking at me like that.' He smiled again. 'Like what?' I swallowed. 'Like you are about to kiss me.' Beck leaned closer. 'Who says I'm not?' I leaned back. 'Beck. No.' He shoved a little bit closer. 'Tori,' he whispered. My breathing was uneven. I hated it. Beck leaned closer. His face was inches from mine.<em>  
><em>Beck's right hand stroked my cheek. I tried to remember why I shouldn't want him to kiss me. But before I reached a decision though, his lips touched mine. Just like before, I forgot how to breathe. Agonizingly slow, he crawled closer, his kisses more demanding. His hands found the hem of my shirt, and slid under it. I shivered as I remembered the tall man's hands on my skin. I pulled back, but Beck only leaned back for a split-second before he pressed his lips on mine again. This time, I didn't feel the flashback kind of thing. I pulled him closer, completely forgetting who I was kissing. Completely forgetting what I was doing. He let his lips wander from mine down to my neck, further down and he would've gone much further if my phone hadn't started ringing. I startled and realized what I was doing. I pulled back and jumped from the couch.<em>

I breathed in sharply. 'Tori!' André's voice became more urgent.

_'Tori?' André's voice trembled. 'Beck?' Jade's voice was deadly. 'What the hell is going on?' I turned to André. 'Nothing. We just got caught up in the scene. Right, Beck?'_  
><em>Beck nodded, and both André and Jade seemed to relax. So did I. 'See?' I told André and wove my fingers into his. I pressed my lips on his for a short moment. 'No.' Beck's voice drifted from behind me. 'No. Nothing is alright.' I turned around, horrifed. Beck turned to Jade. 'I want to break up with you.' My mouth fell open, André gasped and Jade shrieked, 'WHAT?'<em>  
><em>'I. Want. To. Break. Up. With. You.' Beck slowly repeated. I couldn't remember how to breathe properly. Oh my God. He won't; this isn't happening. Beck turned back to me. 'André, I'm in love with her.' 'WHAT?' André and Jade cried together. I stared at him, at a complete loss of words. Beck raised his hands. 'I wish I wasn't. I tried, I really tried not to. But . . . I love her.' 'Tori?' André whispered. I turned around.<em>  
><em>'Tori?' Beck pleaded. My head whipped from side to side - Beck to André - ten times in that minute.<em>

_The whole thing was just so wrong. Beck or André._  
><em>Fireworks or light shows?<em>

I shivered. These were things I didn't want to remember.

_I couldn't breathe. The world around me seemed to be crashing down. I could not believe my eyes. I could not believe the event unfolding before my eyes._  
><em>My thoughts were blurred, unclear, hard to follow. Time seemed to drag itself out, making seconds lasting hours.<em>  
><em>I squeezed André's hand so hard it must have hurt, but he didn't flinch. He was focused on keeping me behind his back. I stared at Beck, pleading without words to lower the gun. His eyes were pained. He kept his gaze focused on André's hand in mine, and I could see his eyes grow darker with rage.<em>  
><em>I bit my lip. If anyone could get Beck to lower the gun, I knew it would be me. But I was still frozen in fear and shock. 'Please, Beck, mate, don't,' I heard André plead. 'Beck, you love her. You can't shoot her. Please. Let her go.' Beck tightened his grip on the gun, as if his hands were sweaty. The tall guy sighed. 'Come on, newbie. We don't have all night. Shoot them, or we'll do it for you.' Beck's eyes shimmered with panic. 'But,' the guy added, 'we'll have to shoot you too.'<em>  
><em>Beck let the air escape through his teeth. Slowly, he curled his finger around the trigger. André gasped.<em>

_..._

_'Beck,' I said softly, 'you know what I feel for you. I never denied that. I never will. I can't.' His lower lip trembled. 'But you promised me you would never hurt me,' I said, now so close to him, the barrel of the gun was nearly touching my chest, 'And I believed you. If you shoot him, I still won't choose you.. But Beck, if you don't. . .' I took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, 'I will. I'll choose you over him. But please, let him go.' Emotions flashed through Beck's eyes as he stared at me. André was gasping for breath behind my back. I tried to ignore him, knowing exactly how much my words were hurting him. But I had to find a way to get him away. To lowered the gun another few inches. 'You wouldn't,' he whispered, but hope was growing larger in his eyes. I bit my lip and reached for his free hand. I wove my fingers into his and ignored André's gasps of pain. I had to do this. 'Yeah I would. I would.' Beck stared at our hands and then at the gun in his hand. He slowly dropped the gun by his side. 'Then go. Take him out of here.' I shook my head. 'Not without you. Beck, I promised.' He stroked my cheek. 'And I promised you. And by having you choose me, I'll be hurting you. Which is exactly what I promised not to do.' I swallowed. Beck pushed me back into André's arms._

_..._

_Before anyone had the time to react to the struggle, the loud blast of a gunshot echoed through the street, and all three men gazed at me. André and Beck horrified, the tall guy amused. I felt numb. Why were they staring at me? I looked down at my chest and found a large bullet hole in my T-shirt and jacket, where the bullet had entered my personal space. I began to feel cold as I watched a red stain bloom on the white shirt I was wearing. I didn't feel the pain until my knees gave in and hit the pavement hard._

_I remember hitting my head to the sidewalk. Then, there was nothing._

I emerged from the memories, gasping and panting. Crying.  
>I realized I was on the floor, and André was kneeling beside me, terrified something might be wrong with me.<br>'Tori,' he whispered. 'Baby, are you okay?' I realized tears were still running down my cheeks.

I looked up at André, afraid to verbalize what I knew had happened. But I had to.

His gaze met mine. I bit my lip and let my love for him fill me up.

'André,' I whispered, and he leaned closer, 'I remember.'

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for this chapter! xD<strong>

**I decided to give you guys a little sneak preview in the beginning of the chapter, because I . . . Well, I just love teasing you :)**

**The next chapter is a short one, I think, but good nevertheless xD**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one, so let me know what you think :)) Just click the review button!**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	22. Trial

**Disclaimer: Let's face it. Victorious will never be mine :(**

**You guys, I am sooooooooooo sorry I took so long to update!  
>I was so stuck on this chapter, and I still think it sucks ass big time, but I really needed to write this to be able to end the story. <strong>

**One or two more chapters after this one, and I promise, they'll be better!**

**Shoutout to everyone who favorited, alerted, reviewed! I love you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Trial<strong>

**TWO WEEKS LATER – BECK'S POV**

Jade smiled encouragingly at me as I followed my attorney to the table in front of the judge. The light in the courtroom seemed to bright for my eyes, and I had difficulty swallowing as I sat down on the cold, iron chair.  
>This wasn't the day of the trial. Hell no.<p>

Today was the day on which the judge would decide to lock me up or not. The trial would start in two weeks.  
>I glanced sideways at my lawyer, then at the prosecutor and back at Jade. I hadn't seen André and Tori in weeks – semester break – and I had no idea what André had told his lawyer about that night. The last text he sent me had been rather cryptic.<p>

_'Sorting this out. Things are different. __Don't lie.'_

_Don't lie. _Easier said than done. I glanced at the judge, a tall, black man wearing a black toga and looking down on me frowning.  
>'So.' He began, furrowing his brows.<p>

'What do we have here?'  
>I glanced at my lawyer, a tall, lean man with sleek brown hair and swallowed.<br>He nodded.  
>I redirected my gaze at the judge and replied, 'Beck Oliver, sir.'<p>

'Ah yes,' the judge said, 'This case I remember.'  
>He turned to the prosecutor, a pretty blonde lady, and inclined his head.<br>'Well, miss Delaway? Bail?' She looked up from her papers and smiled radiantly.  
>'This boy has been accused of attempted murder and attempt to sexual assault. I dearly believe he is too dangerous to let him wander the city. I either suggest a stay in prison with a bail of 5000 dollars or an anklet.'<p>

The judge nodded and turned back to us.  
>'Do you have anything to add or say in defense?' My lawyer nodded shortly.<br>'I should point out that none of the statements made in this case so far have stated that my client has done anything wrong. Both he and his friend stated he tried to help his friends when the noted gang assaulted miss Vega and mister Harris.'  
>The judge sighed. 'Then what do you suggest?'<p>

'I request immediate release of my client and we want all charges to be dropped.'  
>Delaway got up and shook her head. 'Objection! We are not dropping charges. We have very reliable witnesses testifying against him.' I swallowed and stared at my hands. I wondered who that could be.<p>

The judge held up his hand when my lawyer wanted to protest against that.  
>'Very well.' He rummaged through the papers. 'Mr. Oliver, please rise.'<br>Hands shaking, I got up.  
>The judge wove his fingers together and gazed at me intently.<br>'I have read your file, your own statement and that of your friends; I usually don't spend that much time on a case such as this.' He sighed. 'I do not believe you are a specific threat. Therefore I decide to decline the demand for bail. You may go freely, Mr. Oliver. I will see you in the trial next week.'

It was as if a stone fell off my heart, relieving me in such a way I felt as if I might have started floating in mid-air, filled with joy.  
>It would all be fine. I glanced at Jade.<br>_Just fine._

* * *

><p><strong>TORI'S POV – D-day<strong>

André and I had been fighting all week.  
>He didn't want me to tell everyone the truth on the trial. He wanted to protect Beck by lying. But I couldn't. I couldn't get myself to lie about that. I could've forgiven Beck and could've lied for him if it had just been me; but I would never fully be able to forgive him for threatening André.<p>

I wouldn't lie.  
>And now I was here. On my own. Without André.<p>

My hands were shaking. My hands were shaking so bad, I couldn't even button the blouse properly.  
>And this time, André wasn't there right beside me to calm me down. I had to do this on my own. I bit my lip and focused on buttoning the blouse, checking my sober make-up in the large mirror and twisting my hair into a loose bun in the back of my neck.<p>

_This is it. _I thought. _This is what I've been waiting for. Today's the day. Today, we'll get them down. _

I breathed in deeply and turned around as the door opened.

'Are you ready?' Jack Quade smiled encouragingly at me.

I glanced into the mirror one last time.

'Yeah. I'm ready.'

* * *

><p><strong>CAT'S POV<strong>

I got out of the car and gazed up at the magnificent building in front of me.  
>I wasn't sure why I wanted to see the trial. I just wanted to be there for Tori and André. And Beck. And Jade.<p>

This whole thing was ripping us apart at the seams, and, close though we had been before, we were falling apart. None of us would come out of this unscathed.

Slowly, I followed the rest of the crowd inside. There seemed to be a lot of bad guys walking around here, and a lot of people with camera's.  
>Camera's. That meant Trina couldn't be all too far away.<p>

And there she was, with her boyfriend. Tori's mom and dad were right beside her, as were André's mom and little sister.  
>They seemed like a family, and I wondered if they had made up.<br>It had hurt Tori real bad that her dad wouldn't allow her to be with André.

The door to the court room was open, but only a few people were allowed in by those guys in suits by the door. I took a deep breath.

I walked up to them and smiled. 'I'm supposed to testify,' I said, 'Where do I go?'

* * *

><p><strong>12.30 PM <strong>

The courtroom was filled with the most varied group of people the courthouse had ever seen. There was a man with strange clothes and bare feet, a girl dressed all in black, a strange kid with an afro and a puppet, a family of six, a mom, dad, daughter and boyfriend, another woman with a dark skin and a little girl.

Reporters filled the other half of the room, all nervously awaiting the arrival of the first defendant of the day, Erik DeWinde, aka leader of the gang.

At the table of the public defenders sat three people. A latin girl, brown hair in a loose bun in the back of her neck, dressed in a neat white blouse and a long plain black trousers. She was pale and stared straight ahead, not even once looking at the boy sitting next to her. The boy was dressed similarly to the girl, his dark skin in sharp contrast with the blond lady next to him. Everyone knew her.  
>Public defender, her name was Sophia Linella, and she had never yet lost a case.<p>

Finally, Dewinde was brought in, tall, dressed in an orange prison outfit.  
>He walked straight and with pride and confidence. When he passed the public defenders table, the girl seemed to shiver, though she wasn't looking at him. She recoiled and leaned closer to the boy next to her.<p>

'All rise!' the clerk announced as the judge strode into the room.

A few minutes later, everyone seemed to be settled, the reporters shut up and everyone gazed at the judge in wild expectation.

The judge nodded and looked at the public defenders. 'Miss Linella. You may begin.'  
>She smiled and got up, causing a flurry of activity as every reporter began to whisper in their microphones, telling the world exactly what was going on in the courtroom.<p>

Linella didn't start off the way most people might've expected her to.  
>She began with describing the lives of the two young people at her table. Tori Vega and André Harris. Best friends.<p>

Until one party, one wrong turn changed their lives.

From there on, Linella continued by telling people exactly what had happened to the two teenagers, into detail.  
>She showed pictures taken at the scene of the crime, of the two victims in the hospital.<br>The images caused many gasps of horror in the crowd, and when the first picture was shown, Tori squeezed her eyes shut and automatically reached for André's hand.

Finally, Linella seemed to be finished with her repertoire and asked the judge for permission to present the first witness. The judge granted the wish.

She nodded. 'State wished to call forth Victoria Vega.'

* * *

><p><strong>4.15 PM<strong>

The decision was to be made.

The both parties had had their moment for closing arguments.

The judge stared at Dewinde with intense hatred, as if he genuinely loathed the man.  
>Finally, he spoke.<p>

'Erik Dewilde, please stand up.' The man did as complied and kept his gaze directed at the floor, as his lawyer had instructed him.  
>'I consider you guilty as charged. I hereby sentence you to a sentence of twenty years to life, no bailing out or early release for good behavior.'<p>

One might've thought a hurricane had hit the courtroom, judging by all the noise that erupted from the crowd of people and journalists.

Tori jumped up from her chair, turned to André, who jumped up as well and hugged him tightly.  
>If you strained your ears, you could hear the gentle whispers exchanged between the pair of them.<p>

'I'm sorry,' they both whispered at the same time.  
>André chuckled and brushed his lips past Tori's ear. 'I love you.'<br>She smiled. 'As I love you.'

* * *

><p><strong>TORI'S POV - 6 PM<strong>

I glanced around the room.  
>Things had changed slightly in the setup. I was still seated at the same side, but André, as a witness for the defence, had moved to the other side of the room, to sit on the tribune behind the defendant.<br>Beck was about to be tried.

I felt different. Not about Beck.  
>About the situation. I knew he had only tried to help me.<p>

I bit my lip and exchanged a glance with André as police officers led Beck inside.  
>I felt a pang of regret or sadness when I saw he was handcuffed.<br>His dark eyes met mine, and I felt slightly uncomfortable as I witnessed the swirl of emotions in his eyes.

Hope. Fear. Sadness. Regret. Anger. Love.

'I'm so sorry,' he mouthed. I smiled and wiped away a tear. 'I know,' I mouthed back.

And I made my decision. I got up from the witness stand, headed for the public defender and whispered in her ear that I withdrew my statement at this moment, knowing that without my statement, she'd have nothing to go on. She'd have to drop all charges.

'WHAT?' She shrieked, causing everyone to stare at her.  
>'You heard me,' I said, loud enough for everyone to hear me, 'I withdraw my statement. Everything I said is no longer valuable.'<p>

'Is there a problem, miss Linella?' The judge butted in.  
>I smiled at Linella.<br>She scowled, turned to the judge, walked up to him and explained the situation.

I saw the corners of his mouth twitch a few times as he listened to what she was telling him.

Finally, he leaned up again and sighed.

'The only witness for the state has withdrawn herself.' He smiled.  
>'I hereby declare this case suspended.'<br>Beck, André and I exchanged some nervous glances.

The judge smiled at us. 'That means you go free, kid. Cleared of all charges.'

The feeling of intense happiness that bloomed up in me was too much to keep in and I started cheering, ran over to Beck and hugged him tightly.

Finally, I let go, Beck hurried to Jade and I turned to find André already there.  
>My heart speading up, cheeks heating, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his around my waist.<br>I didn't even realise I was crying until André softly kissed away one of the tears and smiled at me, his hand resting on my cheek.

'It's over, Tori. It's finally over.' I smiled through the tears, the feeling of intense relief not letting go of me.  
>'We've won,' I croaked, my voice hoarse. 'We've won.' He nodded.<br>'Yeah we did.'

And he leaned down to press his lips on mine.

And now, everything was finally okay.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, before you start, I know this chapter sucks like big time. It's probably the worst I've ever written, but I had to get through it, and I guess it's tolerable. <strong>

**Anyway, I hope you liked it (sorta) anyway.**

**Thanks for reading and please, please, please review!**

**I'll update when I get to 100 reviews!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	23. You Me Them

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. Not now. Not next week. Not ever. Damnit. **

**Seriously you guys, when I said 'I'll update when I get 100 reviews', I didn't mean you had to give me the reviews all in one night xD**

**Well, anyway. . . It's almost finished. I'm just working on the final touches of the final chapter, but it has been finished since I uploaded chapter one xD**

**I'm not sure what to think of this chapter. It's . . . It's a chapter to fill up the gaps.  
>I needed to make sure everything was said that had to be said before I could upload the last chapter. <strong>

**Anyways, I'm thinking that maybe, I should just write a sequel to this story, but that'll be for you to decide after I upload the last chapter - for that, you will have to wait until Tuesday xD**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>You. Me. Them.<strong>

**JADE'S POV**

And all I can do is love her for it. No matter how much I want to hate her for making us go through all this, I cannot, I will not hate her.  
>The broad spectrum of emotions in me right now are so damn confusing. All I want now is to be close to Beck. Even though I know it will never be the same again.<p>

Not ever.

I fight my way through the crowd, heart pounding, aching to see what it was that had caused this absolute and complete chaos.  
>I liked chaos. It made me feel safe and normal.<br>When there was chaos around, I felt calm and less of a mess. And then there was Beck.  
>The only one that ever managed to break through the walls I had built up around myself to keep from being hurt.<p>

People wondered why I hated to Tori Vega with such intensity.  
>Most guessed it was because she spilled coffee on Beck on her first day and kissed him the second.<p>

Truth is, it had nothing to do with that.  
>Tori Vega was everything I had ever wanted to be. For me. For Beck.<br>She was talented, pretty, and she could make a guy stare just by smiling. She was everything I never had been. And that was why I hated her.  
>I envied her.<p>

And I knew Beck would fall in love with her. It was only a matter of time.  
>And then he did, and though I had been waiting for it, the pain his words had caused me had been larger than I had foreseen.<br>I had to struggle to keep myself from falling to my knees and cry like a child.  
>Beck leaving me had caused me to fall into the deepest and darkest abyss I had ever fallen into. I lost my reason for existence.<p>

And I blamed Tori.

Who else was there to blame?

But now, at the courthouse, amidst the crowd and the chaos, I couldn't anymore.  
>It was impossible.<p>

I pushed past a blonde woman talking in a hurried tone in front of a camera, finally breaking through the last huddled group of people.  
>I gasped as I saw the people in front of me, the scene before my eyes.<p>

Beck and Tori. Together. Hugging intimately.  
>My heart broke. There was still something there. Aching to be unleashed.<br>Feelings that were begging to be let out.

And then the moment had passed. Tori had wrapped her arms around André and was crying silently, looking confused.  
>Beck was already running to me, his arms open wide. His smile made my heart ache.<br>He reached me and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off my feet in wild enthusiasm.  
>I couldn't help but share in his joy. I knew he had been cleared of all charges.<br>Finally, he slowly set me down on my feet again and looked into my eyes, into the deepest, darkest corners of my soul.  
>I hardly even noticed the look in his eyes before he crashed his lips on mine.<p>

Though I loved him—God, I would do anything for him—I knew this wasn't a kiss he meant. The underlying feelings weren't the right ones.  
>Slowly, unwilling to admit the truth in my own words, I pulled away.<br>Beck looked at me, pouting slightly.

'What's wrong, baby?'

Once upon a time, I might have scolded him for calling me baby. But that was the last thing I was thinking about now.  
>I wanted to talk to him. I had to tell him.<p>

Tell him that . . . I was confused. . Tell him that we . . .  
>No. Not yet. I smiled up at him.<p>

Not today.

Today I had to convince him and me that we would work.  
>Convince everyone that he no longer loved Tori.<p>

But most of all, I had to convince myself.

* * *

><p>Tori Vega, André Harris, Jade West, Beck Oliver, Cat Valentine and Robbie Shapiro were the most popular gang Hollywood Arts had ever known.<br>Beck, Cat and Tori were amongst the most talented actors and singers they had ever educated.  
>André was an amazingly talented musician, the only one Hollywood Arts had ever had that was able to play more than seven different instruments.<br>Robbie was, though he did not like to hear so, the most talented ventriloquist of his generation.

And Jade, one might wonder? Jade was good in all sorts of things.  
>Singing, dancing, acting, writing, you name it.<p>

Combine these six extremely talented people in one performance on the Big Showcase and you might have a faint idea of how good the performance was.  
>They were the first ever to receive a standing ovation from the entire crowd.<p>

They all graduated top of their classes, Tori and Cat receiving top marks for their general singing classes, Beck being top at Sikowitz's class, André being the best songwriter of the entire school, Jade getting best grades in script-writing, though her work was still referred to as scary and disturbing, and Robbie being applauded for bringing Rex to school every single day.

Jade and Beck got full scholarships for the Conservatoire National de Paris, Tori and André both got into Julliard, Cat got a record deal and a role in a huge movie, to star next to Johnny Depp, and Robbie got the chance to perform next to Jeff Dunham, his inspiration.

And the best was yet to come. André and Tori were given a record deal with a major record label, and Tori made up with her father. He finally accepted that Tori had to live her life on her own, and that she had to make her own decisions.  
>He offered André his most sincere apologies, which André took happily.<p>

For a while, it seemed as if life had finally taken a good turn for the six friends.

And then Jade, who'd gotten pregnant right after graduation, had a miscarriage. The baby was born dead, and Beck and Jade were torn apart.  
>Beck moved back to France, continuing his studies to be a professional actor, while Jade decided to break off her studies and stay in LA with her parents.<p>

They broke up for good after almost five years of being together.

And that was the end of the happy, carefree life of the friends. Tori and André, though both attending Julliard and struggling to keep up with their schoolwork and work to pay for the studio they shared, had to constantly be there for Jade, who'd truly broken down.

She started cutting herself, sank deep into a depression and tried to kill herself several times.  
>Tori, who had grown more and more fond of Jade, felt her own stable life fall apart slowly, and after a fourth suicide attempt, Tori, André and Jade's parents finally made the difficult decision to have Jade admitted into a psych hospital.<p>

Slowly after that, Tori and André managed to get their lives back on track, and though they had to work hard, they managed their lives perfectly.  
>Though tension had snuck into their relationship again after Jade and Beck's break-up, they loved each other.<p>

And they both knew they would do so forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't have much to say really.<br>I've said it all at the beginning. I still think the last few chapters weren't as good as they should've been, but I'm really not feeling it anymore. **

**I think I need a break from this story, and start a sequel after the next chapter. **

**So just read and review, please!**

**I know a deal xD I'll update before Tuesday if you can get me 115 reviews xD  
>Otherwise, you'll have to wait :p<strong>

**I know, I'm a b*tch, but I love it :)**

**Xx Annaelle**


	24. Miracles

**Disclaimer: Dreaming about it is as close as I'll ever get to owning Victorious.**

**Yes, people, this is it, the final chapter xD  
>After this, it is up to you if I make a sequel :)<strong>

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Miracles<strong>

**ANDRÉ'S POV**

I blinked lazily, yawning broadly, careful not to wake Tori, who was laying right next to me, her hair spread out over the pillow.  
>I smiled as she made a slight snoring sound in her sleep. She was so cute.<br>No matter how long we'd been together already, I still praised myself lucky to wake up next to her every single day.

Turning my head slightly, I glanced at the alarm clock.  
>Only seven AM. I stretched and carefully wrapped my arms around Tori, enjoying the softness of her skin, the fruity scent of her hair, the slight rising and falling of her chest as she slept.<p>

After everything we had been through together, she was still mine. All mine.

I smiled to myself and leaned down to press my lips onto her hair, inhaling her scent, the most entrancing perfume in existence.

Tori stirred and blinked slowly.  
>'Good morning,' I whispered as she looked up at me and a smiled formed on her lips.<br>'Morning,' she whispered. She sat up and leaned closer to me, giving me a quick peck on the lips before jumping out of the bed, smiling suggestively at me as she did.

'Hey!' I said indignantly. 'Just one kiss? That's all I get?' She grinned.  
>'That's all you deserve after ditching me last night.'<br>I groaned. My class had run late, and a friend had asked me to go get a beer together, and it had run later than I thought it would've.

'Oh, come on, Tori. I told you I was sorry last night.' She grinned.  
>'I know you did. But you still have a lot of apologizing to do.'<p>

She left the room, swaying her hips purposefully, causing me to burst into laughter.  
>I threw the sheets back and jumped out of the bed, following her through our tiny little apartment, into the bathroom.<br>She turned, threw the towel she'd picked up on the sink and pouted.  
>'You did really leave me hanging last night.' I slowly approached her and slid my arms around her waist. 'I know,' I whispered, setting several soft kisses on her neck, 'And, as I told you like a million times already, I'm sorry.' As I continued to kiss her neck while she gripped my arms tightly, I bit down hard enough for her to gasp loudly.<br>My head became more and more fogged as I kissed the spot where I bit.

Slowly, she softly forced me to look up at her before roughly crashing her lips on mine. It didn't matter how long we'd been together already, or how many times we'd kissed. Whenever her lips touched mine, my mind felt like it disappeared. Like it was completely obliterated. She pulled me closer by my shirt and moved her hand through my dreads.

Involuntarily, I tightened my hold around her waist, groaning as she pushed me back against the door. My heart was pounding like mad and I couldn't think straight anymore.

Letting out a low growl as she grazed my bottom lip, I thought I heard her moan in response.  
>God, I still felt like we weren't close enough.<br>She slipped her hands under my shirt and pulled it over my head, getting it stuck behind my back, pinning my arms behind my back.

She smiled and leaned back. 'I like this,' she whispered, brushing her lips past mine.  
>I groaned. 'Tori, let go.'<br>She shook her head. 'Nah, I don't think I will. I want you all to myself today.'

I couldn't help but smile as she leaned in to kiss me again.

* * *

><p><strong>12.30 PM<strong>

Three years together was long enough, wasn't it? I mean, I wasn't being a stupid jerk for actually hoping she'd be happy?  
>I sat on the bench in the mall and gazed at the shop in front of me, trying to pluck up the courage to go inside.<br>Once upon a time, I had laughed at guys in my position. I don't think I fully realized how life-changing the decision was.  
>Or how much it changed you when you woke up and knew you'd never want anyone else anymore.<p>

I glanced at my watch and groaned. I had to get to class in thirty minutes, and I hadn't even been inside yet.

Sighing, I got up and started pacing. I was being an idiot.  
>I didn't even know what kind I should get her.<br>I knew what she liked and everything, but this had to be perfect. There was nothing I had ever gotten her before that had to be this perfect.

_What if she didn't like what I picked?  
>What if she would laugh?<br>What if__— _

My thoughts were rudely—read: Catly—interrupted.  
>'André!' Cat squealed happily and threw her arms around me.<br>I groaned and stumbled a few paces back while hugging her. 'What's up little red,' I smirked when she finally let go.

She grinned and ran a hand through her hair.  
>'I'm not that little anymore,' she said, reaching out her leg to show me her high heels.<br>I grinned. 'Right. I saw that in your last movie.' She laughed.  
>'Oh my God, you actually watched that? That's so nice of you! It's been waaaay too long since I last saw you and Tori. How's Jade? Robbie told me to say hi.'<p>

I frowned when she mentioned Jade. I hated to think of my friend in an asylum. She was so vulnerable. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Not even me.  
>I shrugged. 'How do you think she's doing, Cat?'<br>Her lower lip trembled. 'I hate that she feels this way. I hate that Beck left.'  
>I ran a hand through my hair. 'He couldn't handle her anymore, Cat. He needed to choose for himself, just this once.'<p>

She nodded. 'I know. But I don't like it.' She clapped her hands and smiled radiantly all of a sudden. She seriously scared me sometimes.  
>'Enough ill-talk now. Did you get it already?' I felt my cheeks grow hot.<br>'No. I don't know which one to get.'

Cat rolled her eyes. 'Seriously? That's it?'  
>I groaned. 'I know. Lame, but still. I want it to be perfect.'<br>She smiled. 'You know she'll like it no matter what, because you got it.'  
>I smiled sheepishly.<br>'That doesn't mean I am ready to go in there on my own.'

Cat smiled and patted my arm.  
>'Come on, you big sissy. Let's get Tori the most amazing engagement ring ever.'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>3 PM<strong>

I unlocked the door, pushed it open and yelled, 'Tori, baby, I'm home!'  
>She didn't reply, but I heard the water of the shower and smiled. I threw my bag into the corner and looked around. Our apartment was cleaner than it usually was.<br>There were no lingering magazines on the red couch, no forgotten dishes on the table and no missing pieces of clothing on the floor.

The box with her ring in it felt heavy in my pocket. I'd agreed to meet Cat tomorrow.  
>With Tori.<p>

I was going to ask her tonight.  
>I'd finished a song I'd been working on for weeks without her knowing.<br>In that song, the last line, I asked her to marry me.

I thought over the last line of the song.  
><em>Oh oh baby, please say that you'll marry me. . . <em>

I headed for the kitchen, poured myself a glass of orange juice and slowly drained it.  
>I vaguely registered the water of the shower being turned off. 'Tori?' I called. 'You there?' 'Yeah,' she replied, 'I'll. . . I'll just be a minute.'<br>I did register the way her voice sounded rather off, but I didn't think much of it.

I returned to the living room and fell back on the couch. I was rather tired, classes had been intense today. Tori entered the room and smiled at me. 'How were classes today?' 'Good,' I said, 'Tiring.' She smiled and sat down next to me. I leaned closer to her and kissed her softly. 'How was your day?' I smiled when I leaned back.

She shrugged.  
>'Oh, I got an A for the song.' I smiled. 'Told you.' She leaned closer and pressed her lips on mine again. I pulled her on my lap and ran my hands down her body. She shivered under my hands and slid her hands under my shirt. I groaned. Suddenly, she pulled away and shoved to the other side of the couch. I swallowed, ignoring the fire that ran through my veins. 'Sorry,' I whispered. It was easy to forget that sometimes, even my touch gave her flash backs. She didn't react at first.<p>

She looked down at her knees again, oblivious to my presence for the shortest moment.  
>I frowned. 'Tori? Babe? You okay?'<br>Her eyes snapped back up at mine and she swallowed.  
>'Do you remember when we talked about moving? I mean, about the studio getting to small?' I nodded; I also remembered we hadn't brought it up again because we didn't have the money to pay for a bigger apartment.<br>'We should really start looking for something bigger, and cheap. We'll need it.' I frowned.  
>'Why?'<p>

She swallowed again. I felt uneasy, knowing that she was troubled by something.  
>'Tori?' I said when she didn't answer. She slowly turned to face me again.<br>She breathed in deeply. 'Do you believe in miracles?' I smiled at her.  
>'With you sitting here? How could I not?' She ran a hand through her hair and leaned forward.<p>

'André, I'm serious.'  
>I smiled at her. 'So am I. Now tell me what that has to do with moving to a bigger apartment.'<br>She bit her lip. I was getting worried.

'Tori?' She finally looked up.

'André,' her eyes met mine, 'I'm pregnant.'

* * *

><p><strong>This is it.<br>The end of Leave It All To Shine. **

**And it feels so weird!  
>Good and bad at the same time!<strong>

**Anyway, everyone thank you guys for sticking with me through it all, for reading and reviewing !  
>I love you guys so much!<strong>

**Special shoutouts:**

**MrEpic: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it anyway xD I wasn't planning on bringing Jade back any time soon, that is if I ever start a sequel. **

**She_Nerdist: I LOVE him 2!  
>Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing all through the story!<strong>

**msjei09: Thanks for everything throughout the entire story, and for writing 'A Dream Before Awakening' xD**

**To all you unnamed people: I love you!  
>Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, . . . <strong>

**Okay, I'm going to stop talking now. **

**Review and tell me if I should do the sequel!**

**Xx Annaelle**


	25. IMPORTANT!

**! IMPORTANT !**

**Hello everyone!**

**You guys have been reviewing your asses off, begging for a sequal, so I promise, there will be one!  
>But here's where you come in.<strong>

**I have a few ideas, but I need you to tell me what you would want to happen in the next story.  
>Yes, of course, there'll be more about Tori and André and the pregnancy, more about Beck and Jade . . . But I want to know <em>your <em>view on things. **

**What would you do? **

**Let me know! Just tell me in a review or a PM, and maybe I'll use it :D  
>Credits will of course be extended to the one who gave me the idea ;)<strong>

**Xx Annaelle**


End file.
